Pardew's mentality these days of "playing it safe" has really clouded his judgement about Ben Arfa. It's probable that Hatem isn't seen as a "safe player" (as he carries too much of a "risk") and I think this is why he's not starting. Can somewhat understand it from Pardew's POV but it's absolute bullshit reasoning imo.
We need to push on and "go for it" so to speak and I reckon we can only do that with changes in the system/personnel. Playing Raylor at home/against weaker teams is a negative thing to do. I can understand the reasons for starting Raylor in certain games but against teams like Wolves, we really need someone like Ben Arfa who can create space for the others and ultimately give us that extra attacking spark.
Pardew's handling of this whole situation has been very poor. I was hoping to see some signs of change but it's not happening yet. Patience is a virtue I guess, there's 12 games left and I've said it before, there's still some time for the situation to change for better or for worse (of course, I hope that former happens).