Ben Arfa - our answer to Gareth Bale?

Gareth Bale is getting all the headlines right now due to his current fantastic form. He rightly is being labelled as the Premiership's best player and has even been likened to Ronaldo and Messi. Personally I still think he still has some way to go before he can be put in the same category as Cristiano or Lionel who are two of the best footballers ever.

No doubt Bale has taken the Premiership by storm since the turn of the year and has reached another level. Arguments could be made that he is carrying his club and that Spurs would not be 3rd in the league without their Welsh superstar. He has scored 8 goals in his last 9 games, including late winners against NUFC and West Ham since Andre Villas Boas changed his position to a free role just behind the striker.

For me Bale on current form is right up there with the worlds best, however consistency is key and Bale has to replicate his current form over a whole season, or win championship with his club before he can be mentioned as one of the worlds elite players.

I can see Bale leaving Spurs this summer to head to one of the world's top clubs - Real Madrid have already been linked with a bid - Zinedane Zidane recently scouted Bale while playing a Europa league game against Lyon. For Bale to reach his potential and for his talent to be rewarded with championships and trophies he really needs to make a move.

As a NUFC fan I obviously look at Spurs with envious eyes and wish we did have a superstar like Bale, but then when you look at our squad and see Hatem Ben Arfa and I fell we could have our very own Bale.

Now before I go any further I am not saying Ben Arfa is better than Bale - that is not even a competition right now, however I do feel that in Ben Arfa NUFC have a player who can be as influential as Bale is for Spurs. He has all the talent in the world and with a run of games injury free I see no reason why Ben Arfa cannot take this league by the scruff of the neck and be a real game changer for NUFC.

We all love Hatem and appreciate what he brings to the club, we understand that he is a one-of -a- kind talent that cannot easily be replaced. You just have to look at our poor form this season and how this coincides with Ben Arfa's injury. As NUFC fans we have only seen glimpses of what he can bring to the team. We love a French flair player at NUFC - I believe Hatem will have a similar impact on the NUFC to that of David GInola who I would rate as the most talented player I have seen in a Black & White shirt.

The Original French Geordie

Last season we witnessed two moments of genius from our number 10 - the goals scored against Bolton and Blackburn last season were astonishing and usually only scored on the local school field or during a game of FIFA on the XBOX, however our game changer scored them during a high level competitive game.Can you imagine the media hype if Gareth Bale had scored either of these goals. Of course Bale is the current media darling and plays for a London based club who have always been highlighted more than the unfashionable clubs up North.

Gareth Bale has been able to take his game to the next level this season, for him now it is all about consistently performing at this level for years to come. For our Hatem it is a case of getting fiit, staying fit, and reaching the level of performance we all know he is capable of. It would be great to see Ben Arfa make an appearance from the bench this weekend at Swansea because the quality he brings to the team no other member of our squad has.



The new Ginola?