Former Team-Mates Ben Arfa and Benzema Have Taken Wildly Different Paths

There was a time, believe it or not, when Hatem Ben Arfa was considered as bright a prospect as Karim Benzema. Maybe brighter.

Introduced to the football world as the petulant youth who clashed with Abou Diaby during a Clairefontaine documentary, at 15 years of age the ultra-skilled playmaker joined Lyon's academy and two years later, in 2004, made his senior debut for Les Gones.

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The moniker, which means "The Kids," would prove highly appropriate when Alain Perrin was appointed manager in 2007, and it was through his trust and guidance that the Ben Arfa-Benzema partnership began to flourish.

Both players enjoyed breakout seasons in 2007-08, but as the campaign wore on, Ben Arfa's work ethic, or lack thereof, began to grate on Perrin. Following a tussle with team-mate Sebastian Squillaci, the then-21-year-old was sold to Ligue 1 rivals Marseille.

A year later Benzema joined Real Madrid—his development, for so long so parallel with that of Ben Arfa's, having wildly and favourably diverged.

Since their separation, Benzema has matured into a versatile, well-rounded centre-forward. His partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most lethal in the recent history of the sport, and while he occasionally takes criticism for not scoring enough goals, his work rate is rarely questioned.

Ben Arfa's, on the other hand, is nonexistent.

After moving to Marseille, the attacker fell out with managers Eric Gerets and Didier Deschamps, and before moving to Newcastle in 2010, he was criticised for not being "committed enough physically" by former L'OM president Jean-Claude Dassier.

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"He does not do enough for the team, does not sweat enough for the shirt," Dassier told France Football, as per ESPN FC. "I regret this deeply because, as a player, he has what it takes to be great."

But he also has an attitude problem, which is why his loan to Hull City will likely be cancelled in January.

"It's fair to say that with Ben Arfa that I can't see there being a future," Tigers boss Steve Bruce remarked on Tuesday, according to the Hull Daily Mail. "It's a team and you've got to reform and come into the team. Unfortunately he wants to do things his way."

Newcastle, meanwhile, are similarly uninterested in bringing Ben Arfa back to St. James' Park, with manager Alan Pardew telling the Evening Chronicle: "He won't be coming back here."

Incidentally, but not surprisingly, nobody is all that certain where the 27-year-old happens to be at the moment.

"He's not AWOL. He could be in Paris. I don't know. But he's not AWOL," Bruce conceded to The Times (subscription required).

Conversely, everyone knows where Benzema is: In Morocco, where he and Champions League winners Real Madrid will look to lift the FIFA Club World Cup.

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