football history. His father was the former Tunisian international footballer Kamel Ben Arfa. Ben Arfa began his career in France at ASV Châtenay-Malabry. After two years at the club, he moved a few miles north to Montrouge CF 92. In 1998, Ben Arfa joined sporting club AC Boulogne-Billancourt. The following year, he was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy. While at Clairefontaine, he was a part of A la Clairefontaine, a documentary series which chronicled the lives of some of France's top young footballers during their time at the academy. During the series, an episode showed Ben Arfa getting into an argument with Abou Diaby. While training at Clairefontaine during the weekdays, he played for FC Versailles 78 on the weekends. Club career Lyon Already labeled a prodigy at the age of 15, Ben Arfa joined Lyon, a club that had just won its first ever Ligue 1 championship. In August 2004, after spending two years in the youth divisions of the Lyon academy, he signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a three-year deal despite late interest from English club Chelsea and Dutch outfit Ajax. Along with fellow youth player Karim Benzema, he was promoted to the senior squad and was assigned the number 34 shirt. Ben Arfa made his professional debut on the opening day of the 2004–05 season against Nice. Lyon won the match 1–0 with a goal from Giovane Élber, a few minutes after Ben Arfa had come on. After making a few substitute appearances, he made his first start on 11 September 2004 in a 2–1 victory over Rennes playing 56 minutes. Ben Arfa scored his first professional goal two months later on 10 November in a Coupe de la Ligue match against Lille, converting from the penalty spot in extra time to give Lyon a 2–1 lead, though Lille scored two late goals, beating Lyon 3–2. He made his UEFA Champions League debut in a group stage match against Manchester United coming on as a substitute for Sidney Govou. The following season, Ben Arfa switched to the first team number 18 shirt, but his substitute-to-start ratio was still high as seven of his 12 appearances were as a substitute. He scored as Lyon won the 2005 Trophée des Champions. He made his first Champions League start in a 2–1 victory over Norwegian club Rosenborg, providing the assist on the game-winning goal scored by Fred