Hatem Ben Arfa

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Hatem Ben Arfa
Personal information
Full name Hatem Ben Arfa
Date of birth March 7, 1987 (1987-03-07) (age 21)
Place of birth    Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine), France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Left Winger
Club information
Current club Lyon
Number 18
Youth clubs
1999–2003 Lyon
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2004– Lyon 64 (7)[1]   
National team2
2007-
2007-		 France U-21
France		 1 (0)
5 (1)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of May 18, 2008.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of May 15, 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Hatem Ben Arfa (born on March 7, 1987 in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine) is a French footballer of Tunisian descent who plays for Lyon.

Contents

[edit] Olympique Lyonnais

A graduate of the youth ranks in the Lyon, he broke through to the first team during the 2004-2005 season, making his debut in the Ligue 1 opener against OGC Nice. He scored his first goal for Lyon during the 2006-2007 season against CS Sedan just before halftime. That goal eventually became the winner as Lyon won the match 1-0.

Ben Arfa then became a regular in the first-team playing his trade early in his career as a centre forward, but now operating mainly as a left winger under Alain Perrin's scheme.

[edit] National Team

Ben Arfa scored 16 goals in 22 appearances for France U-17 side[2] before the triumph at the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in May. At the finals, played in France, Ben Arfa was a revelation alongside fellow forwards Jérémy Menez, Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri, scoring against Northern Ireland, Turkey and Portugal.

Ben Arfa was offered a place in the Tunisian World Cup squad to compete at the 2006 World Cup Finals held in Germany. He turned down this opportunity, wishing to continue his career with the French national team.[3]

Ben Arfa is eligible to participate in the upcoming 2009 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship and has appeared in one match (a 1-1 draw against Romania) during the qualification phase. He has yet to return to the squad, likely due to his call up to the national team.

He was called up to the French squad for the first time on October 10, 2007 by Raymond Domenech to replace the injured Louis Saha and play in the EURO 2008 qualifying matches against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania.[4] This move stunned critics of Domenech as they were expected the on form striker David Trezeguet to get the call up. Ben Arfa made his debut on October 13, 2007 when he came on for Franck Ribéry in the 64th minute and scored the last goal in France's 6-0 victory over the Faroe Islands national football team.

Ben Arfa was, however, omitted from Domenech's final 23-man Euro 2008 squad on 28 May.

[edit] Honours

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.lfp.fr/joueur/index.asp?no_joueur=106097
  2. ^ Is Arsene Wenger looking to bring Hatem Ben Arfa to Arsenal?. Arsenal Pies. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  3. ^ French star refuses Tunisia offer. BBC (2006-05-12). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  4. ^ Ben Arfa gets call ahead of Trezeguet. French League (2007-10-10). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
v • d • e
Olympique Lyonnais – current squad

1 Lloris • 2 Clerc • 3 Cris • 4 Müller • 5 Bodmer • 6 Källström • 8 Juninho • 9 Fred • 10 Benzema • 11 Grosso • 12 Pjanić • 14 Govou • 18 Ben Arfa • 19 Delgado • 20 Réveillère • 21 Crosas • 22 Anderson • 23 Keïta • 24 Beynié • 25 Hartock • 27 Mounier • 28 Toulalan • 29 Squillaci • 30 Vercoutre • 32 Boumsong • 33 Charvet • 35 Roux • -- Ederson • Manager: Perrin