It’s not often a player beats five men off the dribble starting from his own half of the pitch to score a goal in professional soccer, let alone in England’s top flight, but that’s just what Hatem Ben Arfa did for Newcastle against Bolton Wanderers on Monday. Unfortunately USMNT defender Tim Ream was one of the defenders split at the end of Ben Arfa’s amazing run.
Video of the goal is above; between Ben Arfa and Papiss Cisse’s form of late, a Champions League spot is amazingly not out of the question for the Magpies. Of course, Clint Dempsey could help Newcastle’s cause with a derby win over Chelsea on Monday night, but that’s another story entirely.
After the loss, Bolton currently sit one point and two spots above the relegation zone, with matches played level. While Ream and Bolton have dropped their last two matches by a 5-0 composite scoreline, at least they can take heart in the fact that they’re getting beated by some of the top guys in the prem right now — Cisse, Ben Arfa and our own Deuce.