Welcome to the NextGoalWinner Hall of Fame, the most prestigious of all Hall of Fame recognitions. In this section of the website, we will pick out and highlight some of the most incredible players, moments, matches, managers and just about everything in between from the wonderful world of football.

When we say that we will recognise the most incredible, we are talking of course primarily of those players that the young folk refer to by ‘the streets will never forget’. Although our next entrant is still out there doing their thing, the player we have picked out was simply remarkable, and one many Premier League defenders will still have nightmares about, and that is of course Hatem Ben Arfa’s time at Newcastle United. With remarkable skills, goals, assists and incredible performances, his time in England is more than worthy of a place in NextGoalWinner’s Hall of Fame.

 If you want to nominate another entrant for a future Hall of Fame post, please get in touch @NextGoalWinBlog over on Twitter and we will build up our roster in the prestigious category.

Enjoy.

Before…

Born 7th March 1987, Hatem Ben Arfa began a footballing career aged 7 as he joined ASV Châtenay-Malabry youth team. The son of Turkish footballer Kamel Ben Arfa, he had the bug from an early age, and continued to play across several youth setups including Montrouge CF 92 and AC Boulogne-Billancourt. In 1999 he was selected to join the Clairefontaine Academy where he was featured in a documentary series about the academy and young footballers in France. In the programme, Ben Arfa was featured having an argument with Abou Diaby (a trait that perhaps would rear it’s head again in his later career). Whilst at Clairfontaine, he played on weekends for FC Versaille 78. Following a 4 year spell at the academy, he was labelled a “prodigy” and snapped up by the Lyon youth setup in 2002 after the club had just claimed their first ever Ligue 1 title. At only 15 years of age, Ben Arfa shone in the youth setup, and in 2004, he signed his first professional contract for the side, rejecting proposals from both Chelsea and Ajax. Making his debut at the same time for Lyon as Karim Benzema, things looked promising in Lyon for the club and for Ben Arfa, and he got off to a winning start, as the side won 1-0 on his debut and scored his first goal shortly after, as well as making a debut Champions League appearance against Manchester United in the same year.

Although making a name for himself in France, he was still subjected to substitute appearances for Lyon, until in around 2007 when Lyon switched to a 4-3-3 and Ben Arfa was used heavily on the wing, he shone as part of the attacking 3 with Benzema as the focal point. He was so influential that he was awarded the young player of the year by the UNFP at the end of the 2007-2008 campaign. It was at the end of the season, where despite establishing himself as a regular in the side, and impressing in his performances leading to contract extension talks, where a training ground altercation with teammate Sébastien Squillaci halted this and his career at Lyon came to an end, leaving for Marseille after 92 appearances, 12 goals, 4 Ligue 1 titles and 4 domestic cup titles.

Leaving Lyon for Marseille for an apparent 12million Euro move in July 2008, he soon got going, and just 16 days in had another bust-up with new teammate Djibril Cissé who was soon out of the club for Sunderland. Despite this hiccup, and the breakdown with his former side Lyon who Ben Arfa immediately insulted and disrespected upon departure, his time at Marseille on-field was terrific. He made a total of 91 appearances and netted 15 goals in his 3 year stint at the club, and helped the side to a Ligue 1 title in 2009-2010, and 2 domestic cup titles in addition. He was really making a name for himself in France, and had even made 7 international appearances by 2010, when Newcastle and several other sides came calling. Not one to shy away from transfer rumours, Ben Arfa once again refused to show up for training, and took it upon himself to travel to Newcastle to await the move. After several negotiations and dealings, the move was made and Ben Arfa arrived (officially) to Newcastle United in 2010 when a loan move with option to buy was finalised, and where our story will continue.

During…

The loan move in 2010 had Newcastle fans excited, and although only joining on loan, the prospect of a permanent move was highly likely. So, with an exciting flair attacker joining, things were looking good for Newcastle, and he got up and running quickly netting on his full debut. Everything looked rosy until a game against Manchester City, when a tackle from Nigel De Jong caused a broken tibia and fibula which ended his first season at the club with the 4 early appearances and 1 goal, as Ben Arfa was unable to return to the side for the remainder of the campaign. Despite this injury horror, Newcastle in January made the move permanent, and he would remain at the club for a further 3 years.

So, in 2011, with a returning Ben Arfa, he was able to hit the heights that many had hoped, making 30 appearances in 2011-2012 and netting 6 goals. What impressed both fans and neutrals was the flair and confidence in how he played the game, scoring a beautiful goal against Blackburn in the FA Cup and generally setting the game alight when given the chance to run at defenders or produce a bit of trickery that had fans off their seat. It’s the same atmosphere and feeling given by Allan Saint-Maximin that Newcastle fans feel today. Another wonder goal against Bolton in the Premier League was terrific as he dribbled past 4 opposition players before slotting the ball home, and is well worth a YouTube search if you have 5 minutes. His performances this season for Newcastle earned Ben Arfa a place in France’s 2012 Euro’s campaign where he featured heavily.

In 2012-2013 with Newcastle entering the Europa League, Ben Arfa was again heavily involved, except for further injury issues stalling a long run in the side, with only 22 appearances being made across the whole year. Despite this, when he did feature he was able to net 4 times and was back getting the crowd on their feet with his skill and exciting play when able to feature. He also netted the goal to secure Newcastle’s place in the league for another season.

In 2013-2014 he got the most league appearances of his time at Newcastle, featuring in 27 league games and netting 3 goals for Newcastle United in the league campaign. Things had taken a bit of a sour turn at the end of the campaign, and in the 2014-2015 season he had been loaned out to Hull City, never to return to the Newcastle United side. Although leaving in this low-key manner, his time at St James’ will be looked back on fondly by fans and neutrals alike, as his time will be remembered for great goals, skill, flair and a confidence in playing that would perhaps irritate your grandad, but for a team who often had little to cheer about, Ben Arfa was a shining light and a spark in attack for the club. It’s sometimes players like Ben Arfa that reignite a love of the game when things aren’t going great results-wise, and when watching him play, I would so often head out and try to recreate some of his skill or a goal on the playground the following morning.

After…

After the loan to Hull City, where he made 9 appearances, Steve Bruce announced that he didn’t actually know where Ben Arfa was, and assumed his time at the club had ended. Meanwhile, Newcastle decided not to renew his contract and the Frenchman was left looking for another club. Things ended nicely (sorry about that), as Nice signed him up, and although ineligible for the remainder of the 2014-2015 season, he got going in the 2015-2016 campaign as he made 37 appearances and netted a record 18 goals, the highest in a single season for the winger.

At the end of the campaign where he ran riot for Nice, he attracted attention from free-spending PSG, and joined them in July 2016 after his short-term deal at Nice expired. He went on to feature heavily in the 2016-2017 season, playing 32 games and scoring 4 goals for PSG, however failed to make a single appearance the following season and left the side when his contract expired with 3 domestic trophies to add to his fairly impressive collection. In 2018 his tour of France continued, joining Rennes for a season, where he played 41 games and scored 9 goals, and included a Coup de France title to his trophy haul. After the season he moved over to Spain to join Valladolid, playing 5 games, then in 2020-2021 returned to France with Bordeaux, playing 25 time and netting twice and now resides in Lille where he has played 3 times in the current campaign.

Overall, he has been a real journeyman in France for various reasons, whether underperforming in the chances given, or more likely personality and professionalism concerns, but no matter, he is and has been a terrific talent, perhaps unable to unlock his full potential but still showing glimpses of brilliance all throughout his career. His time at Newcastle will live fondly in my memory, and he will remain in my head as one of the players I always wanted to emulate and play as on FIFA as well as trying to replicate in the playground. A true legend of the North and one the streets will never forget.