Ben Arfa's unprecedented level of genious + Marveaux under rated.

I was just watching the Fulham game again the other night. Ben Arfa is a frustrating git, but some of his passing and creative play was sensational.

There are others that are more consistent than Ben Arfa, but sometimes you see a pass or a cross from him that any player on the planet would be proud of.

One in particular was an outside of the foot pass.. on his weaker foot. He was on the wing and trapped next to a couple of players, and he curved a pass from the right wing which found Cisse in the box.

He got us from one hopeless situation to into a dangerous position with a flick of a boot.

If we can keep him fit for 25 games this season then he could seal our chances of being in the top 8-10.

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On another topic, I think Marv's average 5/10 ratings may have been a tad unfair. He made some great passes during the game. One in particular was when he was having a spell in central midfield and he played a fantastic 50 yard long pass to Ameobi in the box.

He deserves more time.

 

Just a pity he didn't take his chance against Morecombe!

 

Ben Arfa - frustrating as he is, we can live with that in a match winner.

Marveaux - too lightweight for me and best used as a sub.
He disappears too easy when the tackles go in and doesn't work hard enough tracking back.

IMHO I don't think we can accommodate him, HBA and Anita in the same midfield - just not enough strength and bite.
It's HBA or him for me.

 

Areeeee you hinting that you believe Ben Arfa is as good as Messi?..... You aaarrreee aren't you? Very cheeky

 

Must be dull on that Man utd board...

Still think he needs to sort out his decision making. And by that I dont mean 'putting a shift in' for his full back or any of that crap. If we have got a player like that he needs to be free to win us games but he needs to know when to keep it simple and when to show what he has got. Will keep the other team guessing more.

 

Agree with this. If he can learn that there's a better option off to the right or the left rather than ballooning it into Row Z then he'll be less frustrating to watch. Thing is with HBA tho, you so know that he's got it in him to smash it into the top corner that he's afforded the benefit of the doubt more often than not. I guess that's what makes the guy so unpredictably unpredictable. Unlike Shola whom you know is either gonna be flagged offside or give a stupid ****ing foul away if you let him run loose !

 

Ben Arfa is ridiculous on form but their is also the ben arfa that shows up and looks to do too much. That may reside after a decent run in the team.
I think I'd definitely prefer Marv over gutes on the left. I dont think he sees enough of the ball in the areas he's most effective, hovering outside the box with more than one player in the box. That may be down to tactics but i remember him becoming our creative fulcrum for a few games last season and he seemed to be the only one playing the type of through ball Cisse thrives on. Those passes cabaye forgot how to do all last season

 

Over the course of a game he's not the most active player, but he pops up with several moments of class that change a game, and that's what he's in for.

 

Good article showing how underrated Marveaux has been this season - well worth a read:

http://squawka.com/news/2013/09/09/marveaux/2013090920572