Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew praised the attitude of Hatem Ben Arfa after victory at Cardiff City.
Dropped to the bench, Ben Arfa was a late substitute, and gave Newcastle a valuable outlet as they attempted to stave off Cardiff's late surge for an equaliser.
Pardew said: "Hatem is a great player. His application and acceptance of the decision to leave him out was spot on and he is growing as a person.
"I think some of the things that get said about him are not true.
"He accepted it, he trained very well all week and he got his reward by walking off as part of a winning team."
