Laurent Robert and Ben Arfa

Chelsea fan in peace.

I hugely rate Ben Arfa but for a while now I've been thinking there are startling similarities between him and Ben Arfa, what are your thoughts on both players and do you think Ben Arfa could have the same impact Laurent Robert did at SJP?

 

I hope he would outdo Robert. He has the potential to do that and he's starting to show it...Technique wise, hardly many can challenge Robert but Ben Arfa poses a different type of threat, in that he can beat any defender..

And, best of luck to Chelsea, hope you guys can get revenge on Champions League 2009..

 

Ben Arfa is a different class to Robert. I expect him to easily eclipse what Robert did here. Benny could become the best player to ever don the black and white!!

 

Both fantastic players but Ben Arfa is improving his mentality and could be much better.

Robert was an arrogant, pig headed French twat.

 

As ABC said, they're very different players but given that they're both flamboyant, a little strange and French I can see the similarities. I'd say Robert was a luxury player, for him to play you needed a quality RB who didn't neccessarily need the man in front of him to track back...For a while Ben Arfa was the same, but as part of a front 3, we've seen those defensive duties lifted slightly and his attacking ability makes up for anything we may miss in our own half!

Also, Robert would have a stinker every couple of matches, as of yet, when Ben Arfa's played badly it's either been due to our own long ball tactics or (even if he is playing badly) he'll still create chances and come close to scoring...For me, Ben Arfa has the potential to be infinitely better!

 

Robert was a one trick pony, a fella with a hell of a shot. However he constantly wasted possession and could take a corner to save his life.

 

Different players but i did admire Robert highly

him and solano down the flanks caused huge problems for defenses

 

Robert was skillful and scored the occasional great free kick but his game play was more about setting other players up to score so defenders could deal with him that bit easier.
He played well with Bernard at left back much like Gutierrez and Enrique last year.
Ben Arfa has the skill but can also score, making him a more dangerous and unpredictable player and he doesn't rely on an overlapping player as much as Robert did.
Coupled with Ba and Cisse's ability to score from almost anywhere it seems, I would have to go with Ben Arfa making a much bigger impact.

 

Ben Arfa is better and to be honest we won't have him for long so just enjoy.

 

Think both are great players who do have similar attributes but are also very different.

Robert had the ability to literally score from anywhere in the opposition half if he wanted to and had one of the most accurate cross ability I've seen, its obviously his ridiculously amazing shots that shine longest in the memory though.

Ben Arfa is more of a player who likes to run at defenders, its like the ball just seems to be stuck to his feet, much like Pardew was saying a lesser version of Messi.

They even look a like which is weird to me, but until Ben Arfa has done this:

[video=youtube;m-edtGtB-pY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-edtGtB-pY[/video]



He isn't quite comparing to Robert, but he will surpass him in time I would think.

Edit: All the goals from 3 minutes onwards are incredible.

 

Robert had a hell of a shot on him, one of the best shooting techniques I've seen in the Premiership, he could score from practically anywhere on the pitch. He was, however, wasteful and lazy often leaving Bernard with a near impossible job of marking two men basically the entire match, but we have a history of forgiving players for that as long as they're producing the goods in the attacking third. He was a massively infuriating player but a genius in equal measure, never lost that annoying side to his game though.

Pardew however doesn't hold that philosophy and wants everyone in his team working as hard as the next man. This seems to have added another dimension to Ben Arfa's game, as in recent weeks he's done very well tracking back as well as attacking. He's becoming much more economical with his decisions on the ball too, knowing when to pass and when to take the player on. His dribbling skills are superior to Robert's, and I think that if he stays here another couple of years he'll easily eclipse Robert and make it into most Newcastle fans' all-time Prem XIs for their club.

He should be aiming for Beardsley, I'd say Ben Arfa's more similar to him than Robert. However I don't know if any Toon player in my lifetime will ever match Beardsley, what a player, one of the most underrated ever. Was still destroying defenders with pace and trickery for us when he was 35.

 

Great video, never realised how many super strikes Robert scored. Ben Arfa will turn out to be a great player if allowed to play his natural game and I'm sure we will see a number of super goals in future. Hoping for at least one tonight.

 

As said HBA is/can be better but they are similar. When HBA's been played as an out-and-out winger, he's looked very similar to Robert. However, he has the ability to beat a man (or 6) which means he's more versatile

 

He'll not emulate Robert because he will be sold with a season and 7 games at the very most.