Hatem Ben Arfa, right, is now at Rennes for the latest chapter in his varied and colourful career. AFP
Hatem Ben Arfa, right, is now at Rennes for the latest chapter in his varied and colourful career. AFP

Rennes the latest stop on the rollercoaster career of Hatem Ben Arfa



Hatem Ben Arfa, it seems, is never so menacing as after a long period of inactivity.

One of the most entertaining, enigmatic footballers of his generation is on his umpteenth comeback, one gathering enough momentum that he can eye a first start in European club competition on Thursday night for his latest employer, Rennes, as they host Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League.

Ben Arfa has already given the French club, whom he joined last month, their kick-start in Europe, coming off the bench after 65 minutes to score an injury-time penalty, the winning goal of their opening group fixture against Jablonec of the Czech Republic.

It was a typically theatrical entrance. Ben Arfa, making his Rennes debut, had been all but unemployed for over a year, having fallen so far from favour at Paris Saint-Germain in 2017-18 that he made no first team appearances while seeing out the second and last year of his contract there.

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The reasons for that freeze-out at PSG were several. Ben Arfa, now 31, of course faced severe competition for a place in the side, from Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani, Julian Draxler and all the rest of the star-studded Paris ensemble.

But in truth he and the then PSG manager Unai Emery had never found much of a happy dialogue. Emery’s early criticisms of Ben Arfa’s work-rate hinted at a martinet-v-maverick relationship.

By the beginning of last year, there was barely any mention of the player at all. A thrilling idea that one of French football’s most original, watchable talents might, as he hit 30 years old, find fulfilment at France’s wealthiest, most ambitious club had fizzled into fantasy.

On the rollercoaster arc of Ben Arfa’s career, the plunge at Paris hardly ranks as the low point. For that you might pick out the day when he was substituted in a game against Manchester United at Old Trafford after just 35 minutes by a manager infuriated by a lack of tracking-back or visible signs of defensive responsibility.

This incident happened not when Ben Arfa was playing in the Uefa Champions League for Olympique Lyonnais, or Marseille, two of the gander clubs he has starred at, or even in the Premier League for Newcastle United, where he enjoyed a period of happy adoration from supporters.

No, the humiliating hooking of Hatem happened in the colours of Hull City in November 2014, an incensed Steve Bruce, then in charge of Hull, making the substitution of a player loaned from Newcastle. Ben Arfa was never picked for any English club again.

That setback grew into a crisis, and the following January, prevented by Fifa regulations from joining a third different club in the same season, Ben Arfa was effectively unemployed.

He was then 27, and appeared lost to a sport that made made him a national celebrity at 12, when he featured in a popular documentary series on French television that followed the students at the France national academy at Clairefontaine.

A star had been identified; the public warmed to him. At 17 Ben Arfa was making his Champions League debut - for Lyon, against Manchester United - and at 20 won the first of his 15 caps for France.

Those caps have been spread over almost a decade. The last of them came to him in 2015, and were an endorsement of his capacity to bounce back. He bounced back after his leg was broken by Nigel De Jong - his dribbling has always made him a target of the rugged - early in his career at Newcastle; he recovered from his six months of post-Hull limbo, when he joined Nice. He had a dazzling season there, which led him back to Les Bleus, and to PSG.

Now Rennes, the fifth Ligue 1 club on his resumé. Sabri Lamouchi, their young manager, is the latest to puzzle out how best to use this singular talent. Lamouchi, a former France international with, like Ben Arfa, Tunisian heritage, is reported to have built a strong understanding with the player already.

He has eased him back into action steadily, stressing that “with Hatem, you don’t need 90 minutes from him to win a match.” He can though, still supply a very productive 90 minutes: he provided an assist and then a fine goal, from 25-yards, in the 2-1 win at Monaco earlier this month.

Ben Arfa shone again at the weekend, in the 1-1 draw at Saint-Etienne, although he squandered a chance, from the penalty spot, to deliver all three points. Lamouchi was forgiving. “Hatem is on the right path, and I think we are too.”

TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

Company profile

Name: Oulo.com

Founder: Kamal Nazha

Based: Dubai

Founded: 2020

Number of employees: 5

Sector: Technology

Funding: $450,000

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The National in Davos

We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.

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What is double taxation?
  • Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
  • Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
  • The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
  • Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
Top 10 most polluted cities
  1. Bhiwadi, India
  2. Ghaziabad, India
  3. Hotan, China
  4. Delhi, India
  5. Jaunpur, India
  6. Faisalabad, Pakistan
  7. Noida, India
  8. Bahawalpur, Pakistan
  9. Peshawar, Pakistan
  10. Bagpat, India
Quick%20facts
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Company%20Profile
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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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The drill

Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.

Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”

Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”

Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.” 

FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Saturday
Fiorentina v Torino (8pm)
Hellas Verona v Roma (10.45pm)

Sunday
Parma v Napoli (2.30pm)
Genoa v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (8pm)
Juventus v Sampdoria (10.45pm)

Monday
AC Milan v Bologna (10.45om)

Playing September 30

Benevento v Inter Milan (8pm)
Udinese v Spezia (8pm)
Lazio v Atalanta (10.45pm)

Your rights as an employee

The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.

The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.

If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.

Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.

The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Company%20Profile
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The Outsider

Stephen King, Penguin

Getting there

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.

The stay

Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.

Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets