Third placed Newcastle United will travel to face league leading Manchester City this weekend in a clash of the Premier League’s two remaining unbeaten teams.
The game is also drawing plenty of attention, as it will see the Premier League’s best attack (City have scored 39 goals) go head to head with the league’s best defense (Newcastle have conceded only eight).
Another interesting subplot to the game is it will see the return to the Etihad Stadium of Newcastle’s French playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa.
The last time Newcastle visited Eastlands in October of 2010, a 2-1 win for City was marred by a horrific injury to Ben Arfa. A reckless tackle from Dutch international midfielder De Jong resulted in a double leg break for the Frenchman, and a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
De Jong received criticism from then Newcastle boss Chris Hughton for his “unnecessary challenge,” and worse was to come for the tough tackling Dutchman.
A day after felling Ben Arfa, De Jong found himself exiled from the Dutch national team. Citing the tackle on Ben Arfa, Netherlands coach Bert Van Marwijk said “it was a wild and unnecessary challenge.”
“I have a problem with the way Nigel needlessly looks to push the limit,” added Van Marwijk when talking to the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.
It was hard for De Jong to defend himself against Van Marwijk given the mounting evidence against him. In addition to breaking the tibia and fibula of Ben Arfa, De Jong also broke the leg of USA midfielder Stuart Holden in March 2010, and received a yellow card for his now infamous ‘kung-fu kick’ to the chest of Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso during the World Cup final.
A photograph of the Alonso kick, along with a clip of the Ben Arfa tackle can be seen in the video below;
It now appears that De Jong is remorseful for his actions, and has requested a meeting with Ben Arfa to apologize when the teams meet this weekend.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has expressed gratitude for De Jong’s gesture, and hopes the pair can bury the hatchet after Saturday’s game.
“The player has contacted him, which I appreciate as the manager of the other team,” Pardew told BBC Sport. “We have said after the game would be a good time – not before. Hopefully, that will then come to rest.”
Ben Arfa may receive some small satisfaction from De Jong’s gesture, but the Frenchman would be much happier if he can also leave the Etihad Stadium with some points in the bag.
Another interesting subplot to the game is it will see the return to the Etihad Stadium of Newcastle’s French playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa.
The last time Newcastle visited Eastlands in October of 2010, a 2-1 win for City was marred by a horrific injury to Ben Arfa. A reckless tackle from Dutch international midfielder De Jong resulted in a double leg break for the Frenchman, and a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
De Jong received criticism from then Newcastle boss Chris Hughton for his “unnecessary challenge,” and worse was to come for the tough tackling Dutchman.
A day after felling Ben Arfa, De Jong found himself exiled from the Dutch national team. Citing the tackle on Ben Arfa, Netherlands coach Bert Van Marwijk said “it was a wild and unnecessary challenge.”
“I have a problem with the way Nigel needlessly looks to push the limit,” added Van Marwijk when talking to the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.
It was hard for De Jong to defend himself against Van Marwijk given the mounting evidence against him. In addition to breaking the tibia and fibula of Ben Arfa, De Jong also broke the leg of USA midfielder Stuart Holden in March 2010, and received a yellow card for his now infamous ‘kung-fu kick’ to the chest of Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso during the World Cup final.
A photograph of the Alonso kick, along with a clip of the Ben Arfa tackle can be seen in the video below;
It now appears that De Jong is remorseful for his actions, and has requested a meeting with Ben Arfa to apologize when the teams meet this weekend.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has expressed gratitude for De Jong’s gesture, and hopes the pair can bury the hatchet after Saturday’s game.
“The player has contacted him, which I appreciate as the manager of the other team,” Pardew told BBC Sport. “We have said after the game would be a good time – not before. Hopefully, that will then come to rest.”
Ben Arfa may receive some small satisfaction from De Jong’s gesture, but the Frenchman would be much happier if he can also leave the Etihad Stadium with some points in the bag.
