‘Phenomenal’ player Newcastle released mentioned in same breath as Karim Benzema

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Obviously, Newcastle United have had some incredible players over the years, but Nicolas Anelka singled out one former Magpies ace as a gamechanger in French football.

From Jackie Milburn to Alan Shearer, through to more modern icons like Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle have a rich history of top talent from at home and abroad.

Outside of the Newcastle legends we all know and love, there have been so many other cult heroes to grace the turf at St. James’ Park.

Hatem Ben Arfa certainly fits into that category. He’s one of Newcastle’s top Premier League goalscorers and was one of the most exciting talents to turn out in black and white.

• READ MORE: What Hatem Ben Arfa refused to ‘change’ at Newcastle United even after being ‘shouted’ at by his teammates

Hatem Ben Arfa was a special talent

Speaking to French outlet Point de Penalty, Premier League icon Nicolas Anelka waxed lyrical about Ben Arfa, stating the former Newcastle man had a big impact on the French national team when he first emerged.

When asked which players in the past have surprised him, Anelka said: “Samir Nasri, Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa, they were phenomenal. Yeah, three young people who arrived in the France team at the same time, and they had great qualities.”

Ben Arfa only won 15 caps for France in the end, scoring two goals. But, his breakthrough in football brought the game one of its most proficient and dazzling dribblers of the modern era; a player capable of producing magic in the blink of an eye.

Incredibly, he only played 86 times for Newcastle, too, although it feels like he was on Tyneside for a lot longer, given the big impact he had.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hall names the £5m former Newcastle United player he wishes he could’ve played with

How Hatem Ben Arfa became a Newcastle United icon

Of course, Ben Arfa’s time at Newcastle didn’t end well. After clashing with staff, Ben Arfa’s contract was ripped up, but it was a crying shame it came to that.

So many of his teammates described the fiery and flashy Frenchman as the best they played with. Adam Armstrong was amazed by Ben Arfa, while even Patrice Evra admitted Ben Arfa was unplayable at times.

Unfortunately, there were also times where he riled his teammates up. Indeed, Ben Arfa was criticised by his colleagues for showboating and overplaying at times, but you could not deny his magic.

We all remember that wondergoal he scored against Bolton Wanderers, and that was just the icing on the cake for a player who wowed the Premier League for the brief time he was here.