A friend of former Newcastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa believes his first team exile at Paris Saint-Germain may be hitting the player hard.
The 30 year old has been linked with a return to the Magpies, along with a switch to Ligue One side Rennes, but speaking to L’Equipe (translated by the Chronicle) about Ben Arfa’s state of mind, Sylvian Idanger revealed that the French international is finding it difficult to deal with being frozen out at PSG:
“I was afraid that old demons had returned and that he [Ben Arfa] breaks down. I am worried all the time. What upsets me the most in this difficult period, is when we are the only two at the restaurant and he does not tell me that it is not OK, whereas I know, I can sense that he is not well. He suffers in silence, it takes over him and he does not say anything about himself. In fact, Hatem, is one of the favourites in the dressing room, but the players don’t want to say it.”
Ben Arfa has not featured in a first team squad under manager Unai Emery since April, and has started just nine games since arriving from Nice on a free transfer in 2016.
After leaving Newcastle in the summer of 2015, the Frenchman had a very successful season with Nice, scoring 18 goals and contributing six assists in 37 matches for the Ligue One side. It gave him a route back into the French national side, and a switch to PSG. Things have however turned sour very quickly again, and it remains to been where he will end up in January.
