Olivier Bernard: "When he is well managed, Hatem Ben Arfa is up there with the very best in the world on his day and Newcastle United simply did not get the most out of him because they messed him around.
"Alan Pardew did not allow Ben Arfa to express himself and play his own game and that affected his performances and his attitudes. If he had been allowed a free role on the pitch, Ben Arfa would have thrived at St James’ Park.
"He’s back in the France squad now, because he’s that talented.
"We saw in glimpses and flashes on Tyneside exactly what he is capable of but we never saw him at his very best, and that, to me, was down to bad management.
"Newcastle gave up on him too soon.
"You’ve got to manage him properly.
"He is a top-quality player who needs to be approached differently to others.
"A lot of managers understand that, but I do not believe Pardew did with Ben Arfa.
"You can’t get the quality Ben Arfa offers by asking him to be an all-round player. He is very good at what he does, so just leave him to do that, rather than encourage him to do things he doesn’t like to do.
"A system should be formed around those players, rather than pigeon-holing them into a formation you have already preconceived."