Hatem Ben Arfa - One of the best dribblers in the premier league?

I can't think of many better than him. His reactions and feet were a bit off when he first came back from his injury, but since he's hit form, the way he keeps the ball to his feet and gets passed numerous players is amazing.

Yesterday at Wigan, he kept the ball in tight spaces around the box against a load of defenders, skinned them all and if he had have scored it would have been a beautiful goal.

Are there many better than him in this league at doing that?

Some people might say David Silva, but tbh I don't think he's as skillful as Ben Arfa is. Silva has great balance and agility, and gets passed players, but I've never seen him do some of stuff the I've witnessed Ben Arfa do.

Samir Nasri is probably in the same league as Ben Arfa is. They're both Frenchmen. I'd say they were both in the same league of dribbling.

Nani? - A better all round player than Ben Arfa when he's on form. I remember that season he got like 18 goals and 20 assists. But does he match Ben Arfa's skill? I don't think so.

Modric is the only play I can think of that I'd put ahead of Ben Arfa for dribbling.

Suarez is skillful, but not better than Ben Arfa. Probably in the same league.

Anyone got any suggestions?

 

You don't watch much football, do you, Tash?

 

I actually watch a lot of football as a neutral. And in my opinion, there aren't many players in this league that I consider above Ben Arfa in terms of dribbling. In fact, I've only really consider one better and that's Modric.

There are some in the same league as Benny, but only one I'd put above him when he's on form.

Don't worry, contrary to popular belief, I do study football because I'm a freak and don't have many other things to do. I've been obsessed with football for a few years now.

 

Should have afforded Girlzilla a bit more time, you could have still been together now.

 

Dribbling at speed he's one of the best in the league no doubt but I'd probably say the same about Sess when he's in form.

Throw Rosicky out there recently he's been unreal for Arsenal.

 

I respect your opinion, but I think Ben Arfa is better than Sess at dribbling. Sess is faster than Ben Arfa, but I've never seen Sess do some of the amazing **** Ben Arfa has done since here.

 

When dribbling Ben Arfa definitely seems to have the ball under better control and his balance is phenomenal whereas Sess can get knocked off the ball easily at times.

If we were to compare pace and acceleration there'd only be one winner though.

 

Acceleration, I'd say not much between them. Over a long distance, Sess probably.

Agility, Sess. Sess is a bit quicker, but in terms of skill and genius in dribbling, i'd say Ben Arfa.

Both are great players.

 

Agreed, when accelerating Sess hardly even goes through the gears before he's at his top speed, before he moved over from France he trained regularly with an Olympic sprinter (I forget his name) who said he was extremely quick indeed.

I hope both clubs hold onto there players as they will be pivotal to any success they have in the near future.

Back to the OP both Juan Mata and Gareth Bale are pretty decent dribblers.

 

I would love it if Sunderland beat the Scousers to 8th place next season.

I think Everton will be stronger and more consistent next season, and finish 7th. I'd love it if Sunderland finished 8th over the scousers in 12/13, but can't see it unless you buy a 4-5 quality players.

 

Can't see us finishing above Liverpool tbh, I think they will spend big again and probably buy their way into the top 6 next season. Would be happy with top ten and a decent cup run.

How do you see yourselves doing tash? Would you take top ten and a decent run in Europe?

 

I don't disagree with him being the best. I think he's the best by a way! There's no EPL player that could score the goal he scored against Blackburn.

I just think having Modric in there (who's good at holding onto the ball but only ever beats about one man) and not having Hoillet, Sessegnon maybe even Moses (who can beat 3/4 men) is criminal. They should lock you up and throw away the key in fact

 

I personally see it being a big top 7/8 thing next season. If we weren't in Europe next season, I'd bet on us finishing in the top 4/5. But with Europa League. I see us finishing anywhere from 4th-8th.

It depends how much Ashley is willing to spend in the summer. With 4-5 quality additions, I reckon we could threaten 4th place next season, even though we're in Europa League.

And in terms of top 10 finish, it depends how we do in Europa League. If we win it then yes, but if we don't, the our league position would bare great significance when it comes to keeping some of our best players.

At the end of the day, I've got no idea where we're going.

Being a Newcastle fan isn't advisable if you have heart problems, we're up and down all the time. I'm just gonna support the toon with all my heart, have a cheeky drink and enjoy the ride mate/.

 

Kerim Frei at Fulham is pretty handy with the ball at his feet, also Taarabt but I think running at speed whilst dribbling has to go to our very own Hatem Bomb

 

Yaya toure is pretty destructive when he gets going, he's wasted in a defensive role imo.

 

He's like a bulldozer on speed.... Always a favourite of mine and had him in my fantasy league team since the season started....Hands down the best player at Man City

 

He's immense. He's a beast going forward because he has tremendous strength, and good pace for someone his size. Not really skillful like Ben Arfa, but he doesn't need to be. He's probably one of the strongest players in the league, if not the strongest.

 

From a Marseille fan, posted when we signed him :


This guy has a bad temper, is a bit too inconsistent, not a good or efficient defender, but he is one of the most talented player I’ve ever seen.

He suffers too much from of form a media/fan hate towards dribblers. Fans, or media, are pretty harsh against players who takes too many risks, and then lose too many balls, when the team is not doing well. But the thing is that with players like Ben Arfa, he can lose 3 balls, but on the fourth one, he’ll be creating a goal all by himself (which he did a lot of times). Way too many people can’t take a step back, and look at the big picture : they’ll prefer a safe player, who loses very few balls but doesn’t create much, rather than a Ben Arfa, who might lose a lot of balls, but will create some very dangerous situations. ‘He’ll usually get booed the 3rd or 4th time he’ll lose possession). In a game that is being most of the time won by one goal, having a player able to change the side of the game in one moment is invaluable.

Marseille had some good dribblers recently (Nasri, Ribery, Niang, Valbuena), but none of them come close to Ben Arfa : he can effortlessly go past 2/3 players, like very few players in football. Newcastle fans, I don’t guarantee a good financial investment, but you’ll see the of the mos beautiful technical moves and fluent football you’ve ever seen"



Source/Sauce

http://www.tomwfootball.com/2010/09/22/an-idiots-guide-to-hatem-ben-arfa/#comment-1573

 

Top of the tree for me. Tarrabt and Frei are pretty special too.

 

Ben Arfa Is the best dribbler and the most skilful player in the Premier league.

[video=youtube;YfKFegqBhmQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfKFegqBhmQ&feature=g-all-s[/video]