Pardew hails Ben Arfa strike

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew hailed Hatem Ben Arfa's first FA Cup goal as the best he had ever seen in person after a dramatic 2-1 victory over Blackburn.

The mercurial Frenchman emerged from the frustration of having to bide his time on the bench since his return from an horrific leg fracture by marking a rare start with a stunning 70th-minute equaliser. He cut a swathe through the Blackburn team with a breathtaking mazy run before blasting a left-footed shot past Mark Bunn to set up a thrilling finish.

Pardew said: "It's the greatest goal, in my opinion, I have ever seen with my eyes because just the technical part of it - to beat six players, to skip past people, left-foot, right-foot, cut-back, accelerate, everything that was involved in it, it was an unbelievable goal. I am absolutely chuffed for him."

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