Obertan played his best game of the season yet against his former club Bordeaux on Thursday.
The winger created Shola Ameobi’s opening goal in what turned out to be a convincing 3-0 Europa League win.
Alan Pardew: “People sometimes have strange memories about players.
“When we were unbeaten in the first 10 games last year, Gabby played every one of them.
“I thought he was excellent. He had a little difficult spell, but he’s 23 years old. This guy’s still learning about the game.
“We played him on his wrong side because we felt there was a tactical advantage for us there, and he exploited it.
“He has pace that frightens teams. He’s a great weapon for me, and he’s getting better all the time.
“I think people’s expectations of him are too high because they want to see him race past the full-back every time, and it’s impossible.
“If he did, the full-back would know what he was going to do, so he has to mix his game up.
“But he’s one of those players that you just want to see flying down the line, and obviously he can’t do that all the time.
“He has to get the balance right – I thought he did. He was excellent.”