Dropped: Hatem Ben Arfa

Hatem Ben Arfa is a young French left-winger, born on the 7^th March 1987 (aged 21 years), who has always played at French Champions Olympique Lyon in his professional career. Ben Arfa started his career in 1999 at the youth academy of Lyon and signed a professional contract with the same club in 2004. His first goal for Lyon came in the match against CS Sedan in the 2006/07 season. Ben Arfa can also play up front, but under Lyon’s tactical set-up, he adopted the left-wing role. Until the 2008 summer, Ben Arfa has scored 7 times for Lyon in 64 appearances. He was part of the team that won the 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 Ligue 1 Championship. Also, he won the Coupe de France with Lyon this year.

 

After impressing for the French youth sides, Ben Arfa made his debut only recently, in the match against the Faroe Islands on the 13^th October 2007, which France won by the score of 6-0. He scored France’s sixth goal, registering a goal on his debut. Prior to this, he was given the chance to be part of the Tunisian squad for World Cup 2006, due to his Tunisian descent, but he refused this proposal to establish his place in the French national team. Until now, Ben Arfa has appeared just 5 times for France, with the only goal scored being on his debut. He is certainly a player for the future of French national football. He will play no part in the Euro 2008 campaign, unless injuries dictate so.

 

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0O51sE-9c4]