Ben Arfa trains alone after being dropped by PSG

Ben Arfa trains alone after being dropped by PSG

Hatem Ben Arfa will train alone on Tuesday after being left out of Paris Saint-Germain’s 18-man squad for the Champions League opener against Arsenal.

The former Nice and Newcastle United playmaker is not injured and his omission is a response to some underwhelming performances since joining PSG ahead of this season.

Ben Arfa was substituted during the second half of Friday’s 1-1 draw against St Etienne as the Ligue 1 titleholders’ stuttering start to life under Unai Emery continued.

That match marked a return to the starting line-up having been demoted to the bench and last week Emery warned Ben Arfa over his work-rate and mentality.

“He has played in every game,” the former Sevilla boss told RMC. “Sometimes more, sometimes less, but he has played every time.

“He needs to work to improve himself so that if he plays a good 10 minutes, he can play 20 minutes the next time and so on.

“This is the process. He has to work hard and have the right mentality.”

Emery has Thiago Silva, Serge Aurier, Javier Pastore, Maxwell and Jese Rodriguez all available to face Arsenal following recent fitness issues, although Layvin Kurzawa (thigh) misses out.

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