Newcastle United winger Jonas Gutierrez says it's too soon for Hatem Ben Arfa to be compared with Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Alan Pardew described his goal in victory over Blackburn Rovers as the best he had ever witnessed in person, although Gutierrez, an international colleague of Barcelona superstar Messi, was more measured when asked to compare the two men.

He said: "Lionel Messi, we know what he does. I don't want to speak about him because he is something different.

"He is one or two steps above other players. Training with him is unbelievable.

"But Hatem has really good skill. Here in the English league, it is more physical and when there is contact, you don't always get the free-kick, so he has to learn about that."