Hatem Ben Arfa Not Completely at Fault for PSG Snub

For the fourth consecutive game, Unai Emery announced that Hatem Ben Arfa would not be a part of Paris Saint-Germain’s 18-man squad, ahead of the side's trip to face Toulouse FC on Friday night.

It initially came as a shock when the 29-year-old was omitted from the team to play Arsenal in the Champions League, and the French press went into overdrive, failing to believe that it was just for "sporting reasons," as the Spanish coach had hinted.

"We have players who are ready and I have picked the best for tomorrow's match," the 44-year-old coach emphasised before the following game against Dijon. "I believe in looking at things match after match. I have picked the players to form and prepared what I feel to be the best team to play the game."

Thus began another ominous chapter of the Ben Arfa story. Again, not a positive one. However, there is some defence to be made on the player’s behalf, and regardless of how this plays out, the situation can’t all be laid out at the player’s feet.

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Yes, Ben Arfa will take some blame, but PSG has to shoulder some of it, too. This was a problem that most could envision from the moment he signed this summer.

In an incredible 2015/16 season with OGC Nice, the French forward scored 17 goals and picked up six assists and recaptured the imagination of the Ligue 1 fans.

Reportedly, before signing on a free transfer for PSG, he was linked with a move to Emery’s old club Sevilla, per ESPN FC's Mark Rodden, and Southampton, per L’Equipe (h/t the Metro's Coral Barry), where Claude Puel joined after leaving Nice.

Yet the troubled forward choose to join the club of the city where he grew up. Born in Clamart, five miles outside the centre of Paris, the youngster would then impress for AC Boulogne-Billancourt, a lower-league side that play in the same arrondissement where you will find the Parc des Princes.

He was then picked up by Olympique Lyonnais to become a star of their youth system. The rest has been well-documented, but it demonstrates why he would have been keen to make his return to the French capital regardless of who was in charge at the champions.

In reality, working under Emery was always going to be a risk for a player like Ben Arfa, especially with the standards the Spanish coach has and the way he likes to run his clubs.

"Firstly, in the summer, he didn't look in shape, OK, not everyone does." Swedish journalist and PSG fan Andreas Karlsson told Bleacher Report when asked why he thought Ben Arfa was experiencing problems in the capital. "But when Ligue 1 started he still didn't look in shape…and this is not the first time this has happened.

"Perhaps the biggest reason is that I don't think he works hard enough. At least not from what we could see in the games. Emery obviously wants a high pressing team that works hard and defends hard, even the attackers. This is something Ben Arfa just doesn't do."

It’s hard to argue with that reasoning. One of the biggest factors in Ben Arfa’s resurgence at Nice was the position and free role that Puel handed him, played either as a No. 10 or as one of the two forwards. The only thing expected from the former Marseille man was to attack.

"I have not seen Hatem in action since he last played for me, but he needs a system that suits him better on the pitch for a start," Puel told TF1's Telefoot (h/t ESPN FC's Jonathan Johnson) when asked about Ben Arfa’s situation. "In my opinion, he is a match player and not one for training. If he is not playing, then his physical condition can deteriorate too."

Regardless of his ability on the pitch, there was always a very high chance that he and Emery would clash heads.

Karlsson added: "I don't think Ben Arfa is a person you say 'do that instead' and he’d happily do it. I think it's the opposite, and I always felt like Ben Arfa was a bit of a problem. It is also the reason I didn't want him at PSG in the first place, I warned about him being a problem. I just hope that it doesn't affect the rest of the squad." 

That could become a factor as the season rolls on, and it will be a strong test of Emery’s man-management. However, the pressure will only come onto the Spaniard if PSG’s results don’t improve.

PSG fans want a homegrown hero, someone who can be the face of the team and a player they can relate too. Ben Arfa has that potential, yet, if they keep winning 3-0 at home and progress in the Champions League, it’s hard to question his sporting decision.

If results turn and the team lacks creativity and a level of excitement, the fans will call for Ben Arfa’s inclusion.

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Down in the south of France, the OGC Nice fans are dreaming of their hero of last season making a return.

"For the fans, their dream is to see Ben Arfa turning back to Nice," Nice-Matin journalist William Humberset told Bleacher Report. "They think he could be happy only here, in a club with a family spirit, a club where Hatem could feel loved."

He may feel that love from the stands, but PSG as a club are now a well-oiled machine—you are never going to find that same aura and that close-knit feeling in the French capital.

Something has to give, but it is difficult to see either party breaking and looking to resolve this. The season is long, though, and when the games come thick and fast, PSG are going to need Ben Arfa.

Emery will have to play him at some point, and if the attacking midfielder is able to produce the type of moments we saw at Nice, it may be the former Valencia coach’s stance that bends a little.

When you analyse at the 18-man squad that PSG picked for the trip to Toulouse, Emery’s sporting reasons for leaving out Ben Arfa are understandable. Those seven places on the bench fill up quickly.

Kevin Trapp or Alphonse Areola take one, there will be at least one central defender, plus Maxwell or Layvin Kurzawa. That leaves three spots for the attacking players.

Depending on who starts the game, that could possibly be Jese Rodriguez, Jean-Kevin Augustin and Blaise Matuidi. Marco Verratti and Thomas Meunier will also miss the game through injury, and that gives Emery even more headache selections.

Augustin could be left out, or another defender sacrificed, but it’s difficult to purely suggest this is a snub to Ben Arfa. Competition is fierce at PSG, and if you are not following the coach’s philosophy, you are going to miss out.

However, the Parisian staff should have known this before moving for the homegrown talent. Ben Arfa does have previous history of underperforming. Every factor in this transfer added up to trouble, but you can’t blame it all on the player…for once.