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Ben Arfa is Newcastle's 'Heineken' player - Pardew
Published 23:00 19/09/11 By Simon Bird
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Hatem Ben Arfa has been labelled Newcastle's "Heineken" player - but not because he's hit the booze.
The French wizard could have been excused if he'd been driven to drink during his year-long injury nightmare.
But it is not a taste for beer that has earned Ben Arfa the nickname - it's the training sessions that have shown Toon boss Alan Pardew he can reach parts of the pitch with his skills that others can't.
Ben Arfa will make his first start in almost a year in Tuesday's Carling Cup match away to Nottingham Forest, and Pardew paraphrased the 'refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach' tagline used for years in ads for the Dutch lager to describe his potential star man.
Then-loanee Ben Arfa suffered a double leg break when tackled by Manchester City's Nigel De Jong last October, with he had just three Newcastle games - and one superb goal - under his belt.
The Geordies took a gamble and signed him permanently from Marseille in January for £5million despite his injury, and his long recovery suffered another setback during the club's pre-season US tour, when he injured an ankle.
But Ben Arfa has shown remarkable composure to take the blows in his stride, and Pardew is now hopeful he can return to his top form.
The United chief expects to have fallings-out with the eager midfielder this season as he carefully manages his comeback, and ensures he produces work rate as well as his undoubted skill.
But Pardew is a fan and said: "He's a player that can reach heights that other players can't reach - that Heineken player if you like.
"He brings a creative force to the team that is different to what we have and he's different to a lot of players in the Premier League. He's elusive.
"He's been out so long, so the beauty is that I don't have to rush him. Last year, when we lost Andy Carroll, I was really desperate for him at times, if I'm honest. We didn't have any control over games and we needed that little bit of quality around the box.
"This year, I feel that the results and performances mean we don't have to rush him. This is a bit early for him, this game, but he needs a game. I don't expect him to be at his full force on Tuesday.
"He's a Newcastle type player - the type that fans love up here, but unfortunately we haven't seen him.
"It's just a point of getting him right, there's no doubt about his craft, which is exceptional. He needs to fit into the work-rate of the side and all that we do, because we're not that good that we can carry a player. But in pre-season his work-rate was tremendous."
Ben Arfa has spent months recovering, sometimes in France but also on Tyneside, adjusting to his new life in England. It has tested his resolve.
Pardew said: "He's been very calm, actually. Especially after the injury in America. I thought that would cause him a lot of problems - in that he might think this won't work out and he gets injured every time he plays for us. But he's been very buoyant around the place.
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He's a character. He's not going to be smooth-running. I won't say he's high maintenance but he's not low maintenance either. We're going to have our moments with him and I'm sure he's going to fall out with me and my staff and my players, and we will with him, but along that line we're hoping to get some great performances and a lot of goals from him.""
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