Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew is happy to compare Hatem Ben Arfa with Paul Gascoigne.

His positional play and defensive work has pleased Pardew, who is set to hand him an extended run in the first team.

"He's certainly got undoubted ability. He's exciting. He excites me and as a hardened football manager there's not much that can get me out of my seat but he can," he told the Sunday Sun.

"I like that sort of player. I'm a big fan of his but I also have a responsibility to the group and I have to make sure he understands that when we haven't got the ball he knows what he's doing, knows where he should be and the responsibilities that he has.

"I don't see a problem with the physicality. Physically he's strong enough to hold off any player. When he has the ball at his feet he can be very, very strong - like Gazza was.

"When he scored the second against Fulham I genuinely believed we had a chance of getting back into the game. That's what a great player can do."