'Peaceful' Ben Arfa not like his public image, says former Nice manager Puel

Hatem Ben Arfa is a “peaceful” person not like the image most people have of him, according to his former manager Claude Puel.

The enigmatic former Newcastle, Marseille and Paris-Saint Germain midfielder enjoyed the best season of his career to date under Puel at Nice in 2015-16.

Ben Arfa’s 17 goals helped Nice to fourth in Ligue 1, earning him a transfer to champions PSG – but the move didn’t work out, and he joined Rennes as a free agent two years later.

Now 33, Ben Arfa joined Real Valladolid in January as he looks to rediscover the spark which saw him once touted as France's biggest talent of his generation.

According to Puel, most fans have an incomplete picture of the playmaker.

“We talked for a long time,” Puel told Nice-Matin.

“I met a calm person, who loved football. He followed other games, he had ideas about the game.

“I found him to be a peaceful person, contrary to the image people are given about him: unmanageable, hostile. I didn’t see somebody who was messed up, that’s the most important thing.

“That was a great team in every position, but he was the best.”

Ben Arfa’s ability and potential has never been questioned, but it is potential which has largely gone unfulfilled.

He came through the youth ranks at Lyon having trained at France’s famous Clairefontaine academy, moving to Marseille in 2008 before joining Newcastle two years later.

He dazzled at times in the Premier League, scoring a number of memorable solo goals for the Magpies but rarely producing consistent spells of performances, and he spent a significant period out of the game after suffering a broken leg.

Ben Arfa spent four full seasons at Newcastle but was relegated during a loan spell at Hull in 2014-15, with 2015 also bringing the last of his 15 senior caps for France.

Returning to his home country with Nice, he was reinvigorated under Puel but would only play one season for the club before leaving for PSG.

In all competitions, Ben Arfa registered 18 goals and seven assists in 37 appearances for Nice.