Sleeper – Hatem Ben Arfa

When it comes to natural talent, there’s no questioning Hatem Ben Arfa’s abilities. On his day, the Frenchman can bamboozle the very best of top-flight backlines with a fleet of foot and turn of pace that leaves defenders stranded but since arriving at Newcastle back in August 2010, he’s been far more accustomed to the treatment room than the Magpies’ first XI:

Hopes were high for the former Marseille man heading into the previous campaign after a series of standout performances in the latter half of 2011/12. Fielded on the right of a front three, with Papiss Cisse in the centre and Demba Ba out left, Ben Arfa finally came to the fore and helped steer Alan Pardew’s side to a fifth place finish. Reasonably priced across the Fantasy games – 7.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) – the Frenchman was pencilled in as a potential bargain but a change of formation, followed by a spate of hamstring injuries, once again scuppered his chances of success.

As Pardew bowed to Ba’s wish for a central role, a switch back to 4-4-2 saw Ben Arfa shifted the right of the midfield four but despite a more withdrawn berth, he was quick out the blocks for the Magpies. Ben Arfa scored in each of his first two home games and followed that up with an assist in his next appearance at St James’ Park – with seven FPL bonus points also accrued, he’d racked up 27 points over that trio of fixtures and quickly rose to 7.9.

Having started the first 12 league matches, the winger then sustained a hamstring injury on Europa League duties which forced him out of the next three fixtures but Ben Arfa returned with a bang, notching a stunner in the Gameweek 16 defeat at Fulham before his hamstring woes returned again. Sidelined until March, he sufferance yet another recurrence of the same problem on Europa League duties but, despite Pardew’s suggestions he would be out for the season, Ben Arfa returned to domestic action as a sub in Gameweek 33.

Starting the final three matches of the campaign, he slotted home a crucial spot-kick in the Gameweek 37 win at QPR which helped clinch his side’s survival and, with four goals, a couple of assists and nine bonus point to his name, Ben Arfa averaged 4.3 points per start over the course of the previous campaign.

The Prospects

With Pardew already admitting he requires “two or three” new signings after a hugely underwhelming 2012/13, Ben Arfa’s potential may depend upon his manager’s tactical approach. Having sold Ba in the winter transfer window, the Magpies boss moved to a 4-2-3-1 system towards the end of the season which afforded Ben Arfa the chance to move into more advanced areas – rumours of a potential return for Andy Carroll could see a switch back to 4-4-2, which would undoubtedly dent his appeal.

Alternatively, Pardew could also roll out a 4-3-3, with Cisse on the right and Ben Arfa on the left of a lone forward – while such a scenario would be detrimental to Cisse, the latter’s out of position appeal could still see him prosper. Although Pardew utilised Moussa Sissoko in “the hole” behind Cisse, the January signing is expected to move to a deeper, central position next time round, thus reducing Fantasy managers’ mid-price midfield options, though Ben Arfa’s relative lack of game time is likely to see his price either hold steady or perhaps even slightly drop across the Fantasy games.

As he showed at the start of last season and the last few months of the previous campaign, Ben Arfa is more than capable of flourishing as a top-flight force. History indicates, however, that transferring in the Frenchman comes with a high degree of risk – if he can somehow remain injury-free, there’s plenty upside to his acquisition but there’s always that nagging feeling we’ll need a spare trade in hand in the almost inevitable event of him breaking down once again.