 Ben Arfa at the2016 Cannes Film Festival | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hatem Ben Arfa[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1987-03-07)7 March 1987 (age 38)[2] | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Clamart, France[3] | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[3][2] | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder,winger | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | ASV Châtenay-Malabry | |||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Montrouge CF 92 | |||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Boulogne-Billancourt | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Versailles | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | INF Clairefontaine | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Lyon | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2004–2008 | Lyon | 64 | (7) | |||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Marseille | 63 | (9) | |||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | →Newcastle United (loan) | 4 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Newcastle United | 72 | (12) | |||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | →Hull City (loan) | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Nice | 34 | (17) | |||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Paris Saint-Germain | 23 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Rennes | 26 | (7) | |||||||||||
| 2020 | Valladolid | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Bordeaux | 24 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2022 | Lille | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||
| Total | 330 | (55) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | France U16 | 10 | (7) | |||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | France U17 | 17 | (11) | |||||||||||
| 2005 | France U18 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | France U19 | 6 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2007 | France U21 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2007–2015 | France | 15 | (2) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Hatem Ben Arfa (Arabic:حاتم بن عرفة,French pronunciation:[atɛmbɛnaʁfa]; born 7 March 1987) is a French former professionalfootballer who played as awinger andattacking midfielder. Known for his flair anddribbling ability, Ben Arfa is regarded as a fan favourite with a cult following[4] and one of the greatest dribblers of all time. He was once described as "one of the best-rated talents in France", but was also criticised by the media and players alike for lacking discipline.[5]
Ben Arfa's career started in theÎle-de-Franceregion, where he trained atBoulogne-Billancourt andVersailles. In 1999, he was selected to attend theClairefontaine academy. He spent three years there before leaving forLyon, where he won fourLigue 1 titles. In his early career at Lyon, he played as acentre forward but moved into a striker role during the2007–08 season. In the summer of 2008, Ben Arfa signed with rivalsMarseille for €11 million in a move that required the intervention of theLigue de Football Professionnel. With Marseille, he won the2009–10 league title, his fifth overall, as well as theCoupe de la Ligue in2010. After two years at Marseille, Ben Arfa joined English clubNewcastle United on loan for the 2010–11 season. The deal was made permanent later in the season.[6]
Ben Arfa spent four years at Newcastle, with a loan spell atHull City in his final season at the club. He signed forNice in January 2015 but was unable to make his debut until August, having already representedNewcastle United Reserves and Hull City the previous season. He scored 17 goals in 32 league appearances for Nice, attracting the interest of several European clubs, and signed forParis Saint-Germain on 1 July 2016. After failing to make a competitive appearance in the2017–18 season, Ben Arfa signed forRennes, where he won the2019 Coupe de France over Paris Saint-Germain.[7] He then went on to play forValladolid andBordeaux, before joiningLille in 2022.
Ben Arfa is a formerFrench youth international, and played at all levels for France. At the under-17 level, he was a part of the team that won the2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He was called up to thesenior team for the first time in October 2007, for aUEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against theFaroe Islands. Ben Arfa made a total of fifteen appearances for France, scoring twice.
Ben Arfa was born into a family with a football history. His father was the former Tunisian international footballer Kamel Ben Arfa.[8] Ben Arfa began his career in France at ASV Châtenay-Malabry.[9] After two years at the club, he moved a few miles north to Montrouge CF 92. In 1998, Ben Arfa joined sporting clubAC Boulogne-Billancourt. The following year, he was selected to attend theINF Clairefontaine academy. He was the youngest player in his class, and the only one born in 1987.[10] While at Clairefontaine, he was a part ofA la Clairefontaine, a documentary series which chronicled the lives of some of France's top young footballers during their time at the academy.[11][12] During the series, an episode showed Ben Arfa getting into an argument withAbou Diaby.[13] While training at Clairefontaine during the weekdays, he played forFC Versailles 78 on the weekends.[9]
Already labeled aprodigy at the age of 15, Ben Arfa joinedLyon, a club that had just won its first everLigue 1 championship. In August 2004, after spending two years in the youth divisions of theLyon academy, he signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a three-year deal despite late interest from English clubChelsea and Dutch outfitAjax.[14] Along with fellow youth playerKarim Benzema, he was promoted to the senior squad and was assigned the number 34 shirt.
Ben Arfa made his professional debut on the opening day of the2004–05 season againstNice. Lyon won the match 1–0 with a goal fromGiovane Élber, a few minutes after Ben Arfa had come on.[15] After making a few substitute appearances, he made his first start on 11 September 2004 in a 2–1 victory overRennes playing 56 minutes.[16] Ben Arfa scored his first professional goal two months later on 10 November in aCoupe de la Ligue match againstLille, converting from thepenalty spot inextra time to give Lyon a 2–1 lead, though Lille scored two late goals, beating Lyon 3–2.[17] He made hisUEFA Champions League debut in a group stage match againstManchester United coming on as a substitute forSidney Govou.[18]
Thefollowing season, Ben Arfa switched to the first team number 18 shirt, but his substitute-to-start ratio was still high as seven of his 12 appearances were as a substitute. He scored as Lyon won the2005 Trophée des Champions.[19] He made his first Champions League start in a 2–1 victory over Norwegian clubRosenborg, providing the assist on thegame-winning goal scored byFred in the last minutes of the match.[20] Ben Arfa scored his first league goal during the2006–07 season againstSedan just before half-time. The goal proved to be the winner as Lyon won the match 1–0.[21]
After the departure of wingersFlorent Malouda andSylvain Wiltord, new managerAlain Perrin preferred the more modern4–3–3 formation, and moved Ben Arfa to left wing for the2007–08 season.[22] Ben Arfa quickly adapted to the position and scored his first goal in a 5–1 demolition ofMetz on 15 September, though his performance was overshadowed by a Benzemahat trick.[23] Arguably his best performances in a Lyon shirt came in a period of 12 days, during which he played a league match on 28 October againstParis Saint-Germain and a Champions League game against German clubVfB Stuttgart on 7 November. He scored two goals in each match with both results being in favor of Lyon.[24][25] Following the season, he was named theNational Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP)Young Player of the Year.[26]
Despite rumours of a rift between himself and Benzema, Ben Arfa signed a contract extension with Lyon in March 2008 until 2010.[27][28] However, his career at Lyon reached an impasse after he got into a training session scuffle withSébastien Squillaci.[29]
_vs_Matthieu_Chalm%25C3%25A9_(GB).jpg)
Despite reported interest from English clubsEverton,Manchester United,Arsenal, and Spanish clubReal Madrid, rumors of a move to rivalsMarseille began to surface.[30][31] On 28 June 2008, Lyon confirmed that a proposed transfer to Marseille had been cancelled for the time being.[32] However, Ben Arfa confirmed to the localLa Provence newspaper on 29 June that he had signed for thesouthern coast club and would not return to Lyon forpre-season training the following day.[33]La Provence later reported that Ben Arfa had in fact missed training in Lyon on 30 June, confirming his intentions.[34]
Ben Arfa officially joined Marseille on 1 July 2008 for €12 million, with future incentives to be included later, after an agreement was reached between Marseille and Lyon in a meeting organized by theLigue de Football Professionnel.[35][36][37] As a result of the disagreement over the transfer, in December 2008, Ben Arfa told the localLyon newspaperLe Progrès that his former team lacked class and was not a great team.[38] Ben Arfa was presented to the media and had his first training session with the club the same day.[39] He was given the number 20 shirt. On 16 July, Ben Arfa was involved in another training session bust-up, this time withstriker andFrance international playerDjibril Cissé.[40] Cissé later joined English clubSunderland on loan.[41]
Ben Arfa made his league debut on the opening day of the season in a 4–4 draw with Rennes. He scored his first goal forLes Marseillais in that match.[42] He continued in form scoring six times in his first 11 matches. However, his reputation for controversy continued to haunt him when he was involved in another dispute, this time with theCameroon international playerModeste M'bami during a warm up session ahead of the club's UEFA Champions League match againstLiverpool. The two had to be separated byRonald Zubar.[43] Controversy arose again following Marseille's 4–2 loss toLe Classique rivals Paris-Saint Germain. He drew the ire of managerEric Gerets after his refusal to leave the bench to warm up. Ben Arfa later said he was injured much to the chagrin of Gerets, but later apologized for the incident to the media and Gerets himself.[44] Upon his return to the squad, Ben Arfa responded by scoring a goal and providing the assists on both the other goals in a 3–1 victory overSaint-Étienne.[45]
_et_la_Coupe_de_la_Ligue.jpg)
Ben Arfa switched to the number 10 shirt for the2009–10 season and made his debut on the opening match day of the season in a 2–0 away victory overGrenoble appearing as a substitute in the 68th minute.[46] The following week, he earned his first start of the season against Lille and assisted the winning goal scored byBrandão.[47] Controversy surfaced again, however, when, on 8 October 2009, Ben Arfa was fined €10,000 by the club for missing a training session. Ben Arfa blamed the absence on airport delays as he was in Tunisia visiting family members during the international break.[48] A month later, on 18 November, he got into a heated argument with managerDidier Deschamps during a training session, for which Ben Arfa later apologized.[49][50] Under Deschamps in the first half of the season, Ben Arfa appeared in 15 of the club's 20 league matches and only played the full 90 minutes in two matches, a 2–1 defeat againstMonaco and a 2–0 defeat toAuxerre.[51][52]
Ben Arfa's play during the 2010 portion of the season earned praise from both Deschamps and sporting directorJosé Anigo.[53][54] On 10 January 2010, Ben Arfa scored his first goal of the season against amateur clubTrélissac in theCoupe de France.[55] A month later, he was instrumental in Marseille's 5–1 victory overValenciennes assisting on the opening goal scored byLucho González.[53][56] Later that month, Ben Arfa scored an away goal in the first leg of the club'sUEFA Europa League tie against Danish clubCopenhagen. In the return leg in Marseille, Ben Arfa struck again, scoring the opening goal in the 43rd minute. Marseille won the match 3–1 and the tie 6–2 on aggregate.[57] On 27 February, he scored his first league goal of the season in a 3–0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain.[58] Ben Arfa's play in the month of February was validated when he was named theUNFP Player of the Month.[59] Marseille won all four of the league matches the team contested with Ben Arfa starting all of them. On 7 April, Ben Arfa converted a penalty in a 3–0 win overSochaux.[60] The victory placed the club at the top of the table, and they remained there for the rest of the season and clinched the title on 5 May with a 3–1 win over Rennes.[61] Ben Arfa appeared as a substitute in the match.[62]
On 22 July 2010, reports surfaced suggesting that English clubNewcastle United were looking to sign Ben Arfa. After being questioned, Newcastle's managerChris Hughton denied the reports.[63] Five days later, Ben Arfa's agent declared that Newcastle were indeed interested in the player, along with German clubsHoffenheim andWerder Bremen, Turkish clubGalatasaray, and Italian clubAC Milan.[64][65] On 9 August, a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent was being negotiated between the two clubs; however, a loan-fee for the deal could not be reached with Newcastle offering £650,000; £350,000 short of what Marseille wanted.[66] On 12 August, Marseille presidentJean-Claude Dassier announced that Ben Arfa would not be moving to Newcastle and even went as far as to say that an offer from the club had not even existed.[67]
Similar to his actions in leaving Lyon, Ben Arfa responded to the statement by telling the French sports newspaperL'Équipe that he would not be returning toLa Commanderie, Marseille's training facility, and would not play with the team for the remainder of the season.[68][69] He also stated that his relationship with Deschamps had turned sour and was beyond repair.[70][71] Ben Arfa confirmed his intentions by travelling toNewcastle upon Tyne, without authorization, with hopes that Newcastle and Marseille would come to an agreement.[72] After returning to Marseille, he missed several training sessions with his parent club and was, subsequently, left off the match day squad for two league matches againstValenciennes andLorient.[73] Ben Arfa's number 10 was later given to new signingAndré-Pierre Gignac, which signaled a transfer was imminent.[74]
On 19 August, a proposed move to Werder Bremen failed to come to fruition after the club's sporting directorKlaus Allofs declared that the club was not interested in Ben Arfa, despite reports of Werder Bremen offering Marseille a transfer fee of €8 million.[75][76] On 27 August, Dassier confirmed that the club had reached an agreement on a loan fee with Newcastle for the transfer of Ben Arfa with personal terms being the only stumbling block in the deal.[77] Marseille agreed to a £2 million loan fee. Newcastle had been set to pay Marseille another £5 million if Ben Arfa had made 25 club appearances in the2010–11 season, which would have made the transfer permanent.[78]
On 27 August 2010, Ben Arfa agreed to personal terms with Newcastle and, the following day, the club confirmed that it had signed Ben Arfa on a season-long loan.[6][79] He made his debut on 11 September 2010, appearing as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat at home toBlackpool.[80] He scored his first goal for Newcastle on his full debut on 18 September in the 1–0 victory against Everton.[81] On 3 October, Ben Arfa suffered a brokentibia andfibula in his left leg while playing in aleague match againstManchester City. The injury came as a result of a tackle by opposing midfielderNigel de Jong.[82] On 5 January 2011, Marseille and Newcastle both confirmed on their websites that they had reached an agreement for the permanent transfer of Ben Arfa to Newcastle with the player agreeing to a four-and-a-half-year contract. The transfer fee was undisclosed.[83][84]
Ben Arfa spent most of his rehabilitation in his home city of Paris recuperating at theClairefontaine academy.[85][86] On 23 February, Newcastle managerAlan Pardew confirmed that Ben Arfa was running and could return to the team in April.[87] However, days later, Pardew revealed that he was not prepared to rush the player's rehabilitation process and that Ben Arfa probably would not be available until May, stating "I am going to protect him. I can't just throw him in".[88] Ben Arfa returned to training with Newcastle on 5 April. He participated fully in warm-ups with the first-team, but spent the majority of the training session doing light training and fitness work.[89] Ben Arfa ultimately failed to make any more appearances with the team in the 2010–11 season.
After continuing his rehabilitation during the summer, ahead of the2011–12 season, Ben Arfa began participating in friendly matches with the senior team. He made his return to the team on 15 July 2011 in a match againstConference National clubDarlington.[90] Five days later, in the team's pre-season tour of the United States, he sustained an ankle injury in a match againstSporting Kansas City.[91] Ben Arfa ventured back to his home country to rehab the injury and returned to Newcastle on 18 September.[92] He was, subsequently, named to the first-team to participate in the team'sFootball League Cup tie againstNottingham Forest on 21 September.[93] Ben Arfa made his season debut in the match against Nottingham Forest appearing as a substitute. Three days later, he made his Premier League return, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 win overBlackburn Rovers.[94] On 26 December 2011, after going the majority of the autumn campaign without scoring a goal, Ben Arfa scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 away win over Bolton.[95]
On 7 January 2012, Ben Arfa scored Newcastle's opening goal in its FA Cup third round tie against Blackburn Rovers. The goal, described byBBC Sport as "magical", drew the match 1–1 and Newcastle later went on to win the tie 2–1.[96] On 22 January 2012, Ben Arfa scored in Newcastle's 5–2 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage. Two months later, Ben Arfa scored the opener in Newcastle's away league match against Arsenal. The hosts, however, won the match 2–1. On 25 March, he scored one goal and provided the assists on the other two goals in a 3–1 victory against West Brom.[97] Two weeks later, on Easter Monday, Ben Arfa scored again against Bolton Wanderers. The goal, described as "a moment of genius" by British publicationThe Independent, as he was passed the ball just inside his own half, he proceeded to turn and speed past 4 Bolton players, showing incredible control in doing so, and slotted it past Bolton goalkeeperÁdám Bogdán, the goal was the opener and Newcastle went on to win the match 2–0.[98][99]
Despite having a disrupted pre-season due to his participation inEuro 2012, Ben Arfa enjoyed a good start to the new Premier League season. On the opening weekend of the season he won and converted a penalty that gave Newcastle a 2–1 victory over Tottenham.[100] Two weeks later, he scored with a spectacular 25-yard drive, on his weaker right foot, to earn Newcastle a point in a 1–1 draw against Aston Villa.[101] He injured his hamstring in a Europa League match againstMarítimo,[102] returning in a 2–1 loss toFulham, in which he scored Newcastle's only goal.[103] However, he aggravated the injury during the match, and did not make an appearance until 7 March 2013 (his 26th birthday), in a Europa League Round of 16 match againstAnzhi Makhachkala.[104] Once again, he injured his hamstring which kept him out of the team until the second leg of the Europa League quarter final againstBenfica on 11 April, when he came on as a second-half substitute.[105] On 12 May, Ben Arfa scored the equaliser in a 2–1 away win at Loftus Road from the penalty spot as Newcastle confirmed their Premier League status for the next season.[106]
Ben Arfa started the 2013–14 season in a rich vein of form, securing Newcastle's first win of the season by scoring an individual goal against Fulham,[107] and scoring and making an assist in the following game against Aston Villa.[108] Ben Arfa's third goal of the season came when the Frenchman converted a late penalty away at Crystal Palace to help Newcastle ease to 3–0 victory.[109]
On 2 September 2014, Ben Arfa signed forHull City on a season-long loan.[110] He made his debut on 15 September, replacing fellow debutantAbel Hernández for the final 11 minutes of a 2–2 home draw againstWest Ham United.[111] In December 2014, however, Ben Arfa unexpectedly left England, with Hull managerSteve Bruce later admitting he did not know where the player was and that his career with Hull appeared to be over.[112]
On 4 January 2015, Ben Arfa was released from his Newcastle United contract.[113]
On 5 January 2015, Ben Arfa signed a deal with Ligue 1 side Nice, stating that "Even if Real Madrid had called at that moment, my mind was made up."[114] He said that he had returned to France because "There are people here who trust me, who do not judge me as some people want to judge me through the press."[114]
Ben Arfa would be ineligible to play for the club, due to a rule that a player can only play for two clubs in a single season, having already played for bothNewcastle United Reserves and Hull City.[115] On 3 February, Ben Arfa told a press conference his deal with Nice had been terminated, however, on 9 June, Nice would re-sign Ben Arfa at the start of the2015–16 Ligue 1 season.[116][117]
Ben Arfa made his debut for Nice against Monaco in Nice's opening Ligue 1 match of the season on 8 August 2015 at theAllianz Riviera. Seven days later, he scored his first goal for his new club againstTroyes from the penalty spot in Nice's second Ligue 1 match of the season, which ended 3–3. In Nice's next Ligue 1 match on 22 August, Ben Arfa scored a solo goal in the 2–1 win againstCaen.[118]
On 1 July 2016, amidst reported interest from all over Europe after a season in which he scored 18 goals in 37 matches for Nice, Ben Arfa signed for Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal, after his contract ran out at Nice.[119] On 6 August 2016, Ben Arfa scored on his PSG debut, scoring in the 34th minute in a 4–1 victory over his former club Lyon in the2016 Trophée des Champions.[120] On 1 February 2017, Ben Arfa scored a goal whileassisting another two goals in a 4–0 away victory against Rennes in the round of 32 of the2016–17 Coupe de France. On 5 April, Ben Arfa was handed a rare start (just his ninth of the season) and he scored two goals and provided anassist forJavier Pastore in a 4–0 away victory againstAvranches in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France; that was Ben Arfa's last PSG competitive match of the2016–17 season.[121][122] After failing to make a single competitive appearance for PSG in the2017–18 season, he left the club upon the expiration of his contract in June 2018.[123]
On 2 September 2018, Ben Arfa signed for Rennes on a two-year deal.[124] On 20 September, Ben Arfa made his competitive debut for Rennes in the Europa League Group K 2–1 home win overJablonec by coming on as a second-half substitute; playing his first competitive match since 5 April 2017, he scored the final goal from a penalty in the 91st minute.[125] On 7 October, Ben Arfa scored the final goal in the 77th minute (his first career Ligue 1 goal for Rennes) after his 14th minute corner had assistedDamien Da Silva's goal in a 2–1 away win over Monaco.[126] On 8 December, Ben Arfa scored the final goal in the 89th minute after he had set upBenjamin Bourigeaud's goal in a 2–0 Ligue 1 home win overDijon.[127] On 27 April 2019, Ben Arfa won the Coupe de France as Rennes defeated his former club Paris Saint-Germain in thefinal on penalties.[7]
On 28 January 2020, Ben Arfa signed withLa Liga clubReal Valladolid on a six-month contract.[128] He chose the number 3 jersey, an uncommon shirt number for an attacker, and explained his choice by stating that "on the shirt, it looks pretty".[129] However, his performances failed to convince,[130] and after a mere five appearances, he left the club as afree agent.[131]
On 7 October 2020, Ben Arfa joined Ligue 1 sideBordeaux on a one-year contract.[132] He scored his first goal for the club on 20 November against his former club Rennes.[133] Ben Arfa enjoyed a "good start to the season", scoring two goals and providing five assists in 2020 with Bordeaux. However, he endured a difficult second half of the season, which was marred by injuries and problems in the locker room with several teammates, notably with captainLaurent Koscielny.[134] He also had a deteriorating relationship with managerJean-Louis Gasset.[134] On 26 May 2021, sporting directorAlain Roche confirmed that Ben Arfa would be leaving the club at the end of his contract. He stated that the option for a further year included in Ben Arfa's deal was "conditioned upon sporting criteria" that were not met.[135]
On 19 January 2022, Ben Arfa joined reigning Ligue 1 champions Lille on a six-month contract.[136] He made his debut as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat toBrest three days later.[137] On his first start forLes Dogues on 6 February, Ben Arfa went on to provide an assist forSven Botman's goal in a 5–1 defeat to PSG.[138]
In early April, Ben Arfa was suspended from the Lille squad after a heated altercation with managerJocelyn Gourvennec following a 0–0 draw to Bordeaux.[139] Ben Arfa had reportedly criticised the way the team was set up, and told Gourvennec that "this isn'tGuingamp", a team he formerly coached.[140] He later insulted Gourvennec and Lille presidentOlivier Létang in anInstagram story, calling them "twisted", a word used by Gourvennec earlier in the day.[139] Gourvennec admitted in a press conference that he had "never seen that in all [of his] career", referring to Ben Arfa's inappropriate behavior in the dressing room following the match.[139]
Ben Arfa has earned caps with all ofFrance's youth teams. With theunder-16 team, he made ten appearances scoring seven goals. Ben Arfa made his debut with the team at the 2003 edition of the Aegean Cup in Turkey. He scored his first goal in the tournament on 12 January in a 3–2 win overBelgium.[141] The victory assured France a third-place finish. At theMontaigu Tournament, Ben Arfa scored a team-leading six goals. He scored two goals in the team's 8–0 win overGabon in the opening match.[142] In the following match, Ben Arfa scored the final goal in the team's 3–0 win overRussia and, in the final group stage match, bagged another double in a 3–1 victory overEngland.[143][144] He capped the tournament by scoring a goal in the final againstItaly, though France lost the match 5–1.[145]
Ben Arfa made his debut with theunder-17 team in the opening match of the season againstSweden converting a first-half hat-trick in a 5–2 victory.[146] In the Tournio deVal-de-Marne, Ben Arfa scored two goals as France were crowned champions without conceding a goal.[147] At the2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, Ben Arfa, alongside teammatesSamir Nasri, Benzema, andJérémy Menez contributed to the team winning the competition. Ben Arfa appeared in all five matches and scored goals againstNorthern Ireland,Turkey andPortugal.[148][149][150] In total with the under-17s, he made 17 appearances and scored a team-high 11 goals. Because of his increased playing time with Lyon, Ben Arfa missed a significant portion of playing time with theunder-18 team. He made his debut on 15 March 2005, playing in a 3–3 draw withGermany.[151] Ben Arfa appeared in the final three matches of the season for the team to bring his appearance total to four. He scored no goals.
The foursome of Ben Arfa, Nasri, Benzema, and Menez returned to international play together forunder-19 duty. The four were joined byIssiar Dia,Blaise Matuidi, andSerge Gakpé with the objective of winning the2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. In the first round of qualification for the tournament, Ben Arfa scored his lone goal in the opening match againstWales as France advanced through the round undefeated.[152] Due to injury, Ben Arfa was absent from the final round of qualification for the tournament and, despite going undefeated in the round, France were eliminated after being beaten on points byScotland. Ben Arfa made only one competitive appearance with theunder-21 team, appearing in a2009 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualification match againstRomania.[153]
Before representing France, Ben Arfa was eligible to represent Tunisia and was offered a place in the2006 World Cup, held in Germany. LikeSami Khedira he turned down the opportunity, preferring to continue his career with the France national team.[154] Ben Arfa was called up to the senior team for the first time on 10 October 2007 byRaymond Domenech to replace the injuredLouis Saha and played in theEuro 2008 qualifying matches against theFaroe Islands andLithuania.[155] This move stunned critics of Domenech as they expected strikerDavid Trezeguet to get the call-up.[156] Ben Arfa made his debut on 13 October when he came on forFranck Ribéry in the 64th minute and scored the last goal in France's 6–0 victory over the Faroe Islands. Ben Arfa was, however, omitted from Domenech's final 23-manEuro 2008squad on 28 May.[36]
On 25 February 2010, after a long period without a call-up, Ben Arfa returned to the team, alongside teammatesSteve Mandanda andBenoît Cheyrou, after being called up for France'sfriendly match withSpain on 3 March. On 11 May, he was named to the 30-man preliminary list by Domenech to play in the2010 World Cup, but failed to make the final 23.[157][158]
After going nearly two years without representing France internationally, on 5 August 2010, Ben Arfa was called up to thesenior team by new managerLaurent Blanc for the team's friendly match againstNorway on 11 August 2010.[159] Ben Arfa made his return to the team in the match appearing as a half-time substitute forMoussa Sissoko. He scored the opening goal of the match in a 2–1 defeat.[160] On 29 May 2012 Ben Arfa was included in France's 23-man squad forUEFA Euro 2012, making his first start in the final game of Group D, losing 2–0 to Sweden.
On 12 May 2016, Ben Arfa was named on the standby list for France'sUEFA Euro 2016 squad.[161]
Ben Arfa was born in the Paris suburb ofClamart and was raised inChâtenay-Malabry. His father, Kamel Ben Arfa, a formerTunisian international footballer, arrived in France in 1973, settling inSaint-Michel, Aisne to work in afoundry. He later starred for a local club in the commune.[162] Ben Arfa describes himself as a moderately practising Muslim.[163][164]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lyon | 2004–05 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 2005–06 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 2 | |
| 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1 | |
| 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 8 | |
| Total | 64 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 92 | 12 | ||
| Marseille | 2008–09 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | — | 48 | 8 | |
| 2009–10 | Ligue 1 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 3 | — | 41 | 7 | ||
| 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 63 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 91 | 15 | ||
| Newcastle United (loan) | 2010–11 | Premier League | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||
| Newcastle United | 2011–12 | Premier League | 26 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 22 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 3 | |||
| Total | 76 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 86 | 14 | |||
| Hull City (loan) | 2014–15 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Nice | 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 34 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 18 | ||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 4 |
| 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 4 | ||
| Rennes | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 9 |
| Real Valladolid | 2019–20 | La Liga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Bordeaux | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 2 | |||
| Lille | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 330 | 55 | 22 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 51 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 427 | 74 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2007 | 4 | 1 |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2009 | – | ||
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2011 | – | ||
| 2012 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2013 | – | ||
| 2014 | – | ||
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 2 | |
Scores and results list France's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 October 2007 | Tórsvøllur,Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |  Faroe Islands | 6–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying | [170] |
| 2 | 11 August 2010 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Norway | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly | [171] |
Lyon[165]
Marseille[165]
Paris Saint-Germain[165]
Rennes
France U17
Individual
