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Hatem Ben Arfa does not need to be told that he is carrying the hopes of thousands with Newcastle United this season.

He is quick to accept the challenge.

If there is such a thing as a “save our season” plea from Toon fans, then Ben Arfa suggested he was in the mood to do exactly that.

Make no mistake, when the Clairefontaine graduate is on song, so are the much-maligned Magpies.

We’ve only seen it in bursts since Ben Arfa arrived at St James’ Park after a controversial transfer from French giants Marseille three years ago.

Great individual goals against Bolton and Blackburn, surging runs for his team-mates and a left foot that most players would die for.

When in full flow it is easy to see why Ben Arfa was regarded as one of the best of his generation as a youngster.

The pressure is now firmly on Newcastle to deliver something in home games against West Ham and Fulham.

Thankfully for Geordie fans, Ben Arfa does pressure.

The stage lights will be on and it will be over to him to lead take the season by the scruff of the neck after the dismal 4-0 loss to Man City.

With United struggling to make things happen at the Etihad on Monday night, Ben Arfa’s powerful runs were pretty much all there was to write home about from an attacking point of view.

There’s no fresh impetus in terms of new faces it will be down to Ben Arfa to inspire.

When asked if he felt like he was carrying the responsibility to make Newcastle tick, Ben Arfa told the Chronicle: “That’s exactly how I feel. That’s what I want. I need that consistency.

“I just hope there’s no injuries because I need to be here to help the team all year. I will do my best for everyone, every fan. That’s my aim.”

Doom and gloom has not been in short supply this summer on Tyneside but as coaching staff will tell you a smiling Ben Arfa is a good sign.

After suffering a double leg break so early in his Toon career back in 2010 he is living proof that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Football is a team game but Ben Arfa was the only outfield player at Man City to put worried expressions on the back four of Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

The 4-0 defeat dragged Newcastle to the bottom of the table after one game.

But Ben Arfa reckons the only way is up from here on in.

The playmaker, who earlier this year said he wanted to be a modern-day answer to Peter Beardsley in a black-and-white shirt, feels that if the Magpies can start to gel the future is bright. He said: “I still have confidence in the team. And I still think we can do something good this year.

“We’ve had a good pre-season and we still have the players here. We’ve also got Loic Remy here to come back and maybe another striker too. This year I hope we can be stronger than last year.”

Newcastle already go into their first home game in desperate need of a boost against West Ham this weekend.

It will be the first Premier League game on home soil since the 1-0 loss against Arsenal last term.

That day United faced the gruelling exercise of having to watch the Gunners milk the celebrations of qualifying for the Champions League before they could have show their own lap of appreciation for finishing 16 th.

Ben Arfa is aiming for much bigger and better this season.

He said: “What can we achieve? Well the first objective is to finish in the top 10.

“Me personally? In my head and my heart I hope to finish in the top five. But it is going to be a case of going step by step. I’m certainly confident.”

Ben Arfa tried to turn the page on Man City when he said: “It’s gone, there’s nothing we can do. I tried hard.

“We started well In the first 20 minutes going forward and even after the first goal we tried to keep moving.

“But after the red card I thought it was very hard to take anything back from the game.

“Thankfully there weren’t too many injuries. Now the squad will be ready for Saturday.

“This game at Man City is gone and we have to focus for West Ham.

“We came here wanting to do something, but when Man City score so soon, it’s hard to come back. I tell you now the game is done, and we have to get ready for Saturday.

“It’s very, very important to win.”

Regardless of the hammering at Man City, Newcastle will stay host one of the biggest crowds of the day in Europe this weekend when West Ham come to Tyneside.

Ben Arfa is counting down the hours and said: “I hope, in front of everybody at St James’s Park, we win the first game at home. If we can win against Fulham as well, it will be great for us and the supporters. They have waited two months to see a game. I hope we win.”

Ben Arfa admits that the toughest task at Newcastle is matching the brilliance of the supporters.

And he concluded the interview by saying: “My personal message to the supporters is to support us like they do, and I will do everything for the team to repeat maybe what we did two years ago.

“I hope so. Hopefully, we can repay them.”

How do you rate Ben Arfa? How important is he? Let us know in the comments below