Hatem Ben Arfa congratulated by his teammates after his goal against Brest.

-

Romain Perrocheau / AFP

  • The Girondins logically win against Stade Brestois (1-0) during this 13th day of Ligue 1.

  • Hatem Ben Arfa, still very good, was once again decisive by scoring the only goal of the meeting in his purest style.

  • Since his arrival in Bordeaux in early October, he has confirmed his return to a very high level from match to match, and he is not yet 100% according to Jean-Louis Gasset.

At Matmut Atlantique,

The third time will have been the good one!

After two unsuccessful attempts, Hatem Ben Arfa ended up settling sights and this time, the ball did not finish its race in the stands of Matmut Atlantique but in the Brest goal, to offer this Sunday a precious victory to the Girondins de Bordeaux (1-0).

"I told myself that it would smile on us, that I had the baraka today after the two posts and the cross and then unfortunately for us, it came out of its box", sums up the Breton goalkeeper Gautier Larsonneur perfectly.

From match to match, the Bordeaux attacking midfielder confirms that he is back at a very good level.

Omnipresent against Brest, he remains this “incredible player”, as his Brazilian teammate Otavio says, even at 33 years old.

But in Bordeaux, Hatem ben Arfa is above all ultra-decisive this season.

He is two goals and an assist in the last three games and better, he is involved in six of the seven goals scored by his team since his arrival in early October.

9 points brought back alone in 7 games.

All this while having arrived in mid-October after 3 months without a club.

Hatem Ben Arfa.

- Gigg's (@Giggs_) December 6, 2020

Gasset gave him the keys to the truck

In the space of two months, he became the undisputed technical leader of this team and its X factor. Moreover, Girondins coach Jean-Louis Gasset does not hide it, he has a special status:

“In this championship, you have to be solid and have a player who makes the difference.

He is free on the field and the team must organize themselves according to where he is!

"

Although the bet may seem risky because it will not always be brilliant, it is the truth of the moment and not a single of his teammates will complain about it today.

"We are facing a very strong player, recognizes Gautier Larsonneur, with his left foot he can put the ball where he wants and we see that he does the greatest good for this team".

"We may know what he is going to do, he does it so quickly thanks to his technical ease that it is difficult to stop him but frankly, I think we are not the only ones having trouble controlling it ”explains Breton coach Olivier Dall'Oglio with a smile.

And the best may be yet to come ...

"He must still miss a quarter of an hour"

According to Jean-Louis Gasset, Hatem Ben Arfa is not yet 100% but "he must not be far from it, he must still miss a quarter of an hour because we do not erase a year of inactivity like that .

"The Bordeaux coach is even" surprised "by the kilometers his player does.

But the one who arrived in Gironde with more than adequate physical condition, despite very few games played for a year and a half, is "well in his head," notes Gasset.

And when the head goes to Hatem Ben Arfa, the rest follows and it can cause damage on a football field.

Hatem Ben Arfa scored the only goal of the meeting between the Girondins and Brest with a beautiful strike.

- Romain Perrocheau / AFP

The attacking midfielder also rewards teammates who have been transfigured for three weeks.

The Girondins have just taken seven points out of nine and have perhaps their best performance this season.

They are back in the first half of the Ligue 1. They are now an eight clean-sheet this season, game without conceding a goal.

Only Atletico de Madrid are doing so well in Europe.

All the lights are green and it's not a bad thing before going to challenge Lille, the runner-up of PSG, next Sunday (5 p.m.).

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