Alan Pardew thankful for "special goal"

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has praised Hatem Ben Arfa for his individual goal against Bolton Wanderers earlier today.

The French midfielder opened the scoring at the Sports Direct Arena, having dribbled from just inside the Bolton half before shooting past Adam Bogdan in the away goal.

As well as the goal, Pardew was pleased with Ben Arfa's contribution across the 90 minutes.

"It was a special, special goal from Ben Arfa and we needed that today," Pardew told BBC Sport. "He can make the difference in tight games and not many players are blessed with the talent he has.

"His goal, his performance and his workrate were magnificent."

The 25-year-old has scored five league goals this season.