Despite the hostile welcome he received on his return to Gerland, Hatem Ben Arfa puts things into perspective and syays he is satisfied with the point taken in Lyon.
Looking happy and talkative, Hatem Ben Arfa stopped at every microphone at the Press tent at Gerland. «I’m happy, it’s a good point for us. We didn’t suffer, we deserved it» he confided just minutes after the draw between OM and the French champions.Gerland, just a few months ago it was his home, but he welcome given to him by the Lyon public was anything but family like on Sunday evening. Booed every time he picke dup the ball, he wasn’t spared in his former garden. «I was expecting it , he replied when asked about it, when I played for Lyon I was whistled when we came to Marseille. Now it’s the other way around. I think it’s logical as far as they are concerned and it maybe shows that they were touched by the fact that I left. It could also be because of the declarations I made which were twisted and made bitter by the Press.»
Erik Gerets : «He didn’t show any anxiety»
«For a number of minutes,he played collectively then when the fatigue started kicking in he forgot about it and started dribbling around pointlessly. It was time to take him off then. He tried very hard, but this was a match which saw the defenders get the upper hand on the forwards. It was the first time he had played in front of his former supporters, but he didn’t show any signs of anxiety.»
«For a number of minutes,he played collectively then when the fatigue started kicking in he forgot about it and started dribbling around pointlessly. It was time to take him off then. He tried very hard, but this was a match which saw the defenders get the upper hand on the forwards. It was the first time he had played in front of his former supporters, but he didn’t show any signs of anxiety.»
Given a rough ride by the supporters, the attacking midfielder was given close attention by his former team-mates, like the Brazilian Cris. «It wasn’t malicious. I took a few knocks but it’s normal. Against Lyon, a forward is never spared» underlines Ben Arfa. It was also the consequence of the amount of work put in by a player who was positioned, this timee, as a second forward alongside Baky Koné. Positioned on the left, he often dropped out of position and touched a lot of the ball. Without however being able to break through, but his intentions were clear to see.
At the end of the day, the player feels that «everything went off fine» for his first time back at Gerland even if the spectacle wasn’t brilliant. «It’s often how these matches go. I thought it was going to be tight with a big battle in the midfield. Maybe something could have come from a free-kick or a counter attack …» That didn’t happen but satisfaction wins out at the end.
