Gallowgate Toon

Think he's going to be this season's Tiote, fantastic bargain.

Don't think anyone was expecting him to suddenly set the world alight like, just more relief that he looks to be in good shape. As long as he looks as mobile, that's all the reassurance most of us need. The fact he was getting stuck in, shows he's got no fear about his leg. Promising.

From .com "Hatem Ben Arfa, wearing no.10, was at the centre of most things good for Newcastle in the first period, playing in an advanced central position behind Leon Best. He fired off five first half shots, two of which were on target, the other three over the bar".

He's going to be awesome, if deployed in the right way, which is looking likely. Really looking forward to seeing what he's like when he's the main man and playing every week.

He's written further promising comments as well. In a nutshell all the players are waxing lyrical about him.

Is goals scored always the best way to measure a teams attacking quality? I would think possession has to factor in. More time on the ball means less time for the other club and that helps you win, too. I think it's a difficult one to measure because you have to counter it out with some defensive context. Last season, we scored a fair few goals despite having an atrocious strikeforce and i'll put that down to some absolutely awful defending, not our attacking prowess. The West Ham, Villa and Mackems games were just comical watching and they were a quarter of our goals last season.

This. Imo we'll be far more versatile in terms of attack, troubling the vast majority of teams instead of tanking particular sides then completely failing against others. A more consistent and even spread of goals could/should mean more points.

Lol Gyan is ridiculously overrated by their lot, I put it down to rarely seeing a decent striker play for them for the last 30 years or so. He's a solid player and did a little better than I expected but he's not a great goalscorer. If I were you Wearside, I'd be seriously worried about where your goals are going to come from.

I'm never usually surprised by their complete idiocy but this saga takes it to a whole new level. Some of the stuff they're coming out with... Jesus. You look at our signings and they have the potential to be excellent bits of business, particularly Cabaye, who I think will really light up the league. I look at theirs and not a single one makes me think they'll be anything above 'decent'. It's quite pathetic really.

Reckon Ben Arfa could quite easily get double figures. He's got a decent amount of goals taking into consideration his infrequent starting and being played on the wing.

'Elmo' is a bit of a hybrid by the looks of things, can play either position but I've heard he's better in that right back slot. In regard to having O'Shea at left back, I don't think a right footed defender on the left will work out that well over 38 games.

Brown's a far better RB than he is a CB.

They have 4 RBs on their cards now then. O'Shea, El Mohamady, Bardsley and Brown. I know the 2 Man U lads are versatile but I wouldn't say that either of them are natural CBs. Yet they have no senior LBs? Seems the strategy is completely off and it's all about getting names as opposed to what's needed.

Think he's about as perfect a striker you could have to complement Ben Arfa.

They just have a team completely devoid of any creativity. I'd only count Sessegnon as a 'flair player' but he's unproven having only had a few good games towards the end of the season. Gyan's alright as well but he's not exactly prolific is he? Reminds me a lot of Martins and has had an almost identical first season in the league. They'll be solid and will be hard to break down, but they're going to be one of the least exciting teams to watch next season. Can see them being the league's draw kings next year.

It's scary how much of a good fit he is with us, proved in the past to be an erratic mentalist with huge passion and extreme potential. He seems to have really taken to the feel of the club.

All this work he's been doing on our behalf makes me think he's here to stay. The side next year will be built around him imo and he's probably given personal recommendations to Pards on who he thinks will be a good fit for us.

Leg like a banana now, crocked.

Aye, it looks like we're building a real on-the-deck side and I can't think of a better ambassador for that kind of team, than our curly-haired maestro.

Don't mention the P word, we've been allergic to it since 2005. We're going to have a very quick side next year with Ben Arfa, Ba, Marveaux and possibly Jonas and Enrique. Great stuff.

He was doing running drills with us when he came back to training and that's when he didn't have a chance of playing according to Pardew. When Abeid signed, people asked him about Ben Arfa and he's apparently 'running with the ball and starting to feel good'.

I'm desperate for him to be captain, I can't imagine anyone better to lead the team we appear to be building.

Aye, he's played 25+ games in 3 of his 5 top flight seasons, so not terrible. We'll have Jonas and Ferguson to cover, both who are more than capable plus any extras we bring in.

Ba mentions him in his a piece on nufc.co.uk, seems he's had a hand in another signing. Bodes well for their future partnership as well.

Glad to see agent Ben Arfa at work again.