Hatem Ben Arfa Can Save His Newcastle Future By Heeding Advice From France Star

With his Newcastle career hanging in the balance it would be wholly negligent of Hatem Ben Arfa to ignore the advice directed towards him from ex-Lyon team-mate Karim Benzema. Ben Arfa is one player we'd loathe to wave goodbye to this summer but it's a scenario we should brace ourselves for after the Chronicle reported on Sunday that his name has been circulated around Europe, while it was also rumoured that he could be offered a lucrative escape route to the Middle East. Granted we've yet to see the 27-year-old's consistent best at St James' Park and Benzema hit the nail on the head with his comments in the French media at the weekend, while delivering some sage guidance his former colleague. €œIf Hatem had followed the path that was promised to him, today he would play in Barcelona with Messi," the Shields Gazzette quote him as saying.

€œTechnically, he is identical. Hereafter, he has other problems. He needs to work in his head not to drop off.€

It's hard not to agree with Benzema's candid assertion that Ben Arfa lacks the mental discipline, which has been the root cause downfall in a black and white shirt, to reach the meteoric heights that Messi has.

We can only hope for an epiphany to strike him otherwise he will remain a talent left frustratingly unfulfilled.

Because when Ben Arfa is on form and his focus is pure he isn't your run-of-the-mill attacker but a burst of creative colour on an otherwise drab Magpies team. Although his his cause wasn't aided by obscenely being cast as a scapegoat by a fiendish Alan Pardew last season.