Hatem Ben Arfa has been warned he must work harder to force his way back into the Paris Saint-Germain side after being dropped by coach Unai Emery.
The mercurial midfielder earned a surprise move to the Ligue 1 champions this summer after rebuilding his troubled career with a standout season for Nice last campaign, but his spell in the capital has had a rocky start.
Though he scored in the 4-1 win over Lyon in the Trophee des Champions and started the first Ligue 1 match of the season at Bastia, he was substituted in that match and has since played only a handful of minutes off the bench.
For a player who endured miserable spells with Newcastle and Hull prior to joining Nice, there are fears his hot and cold career could be heading for another barren spell.
Emery said there was every chance for Ben Arfa to make a success of his time with PSG, but he must work for it.
"He has played in every game," Emery told RMC in France. "Sometimes more, sometimes less, but he has played every time.
"He needs to work to improve himself so that if he plays a good 10 minutes, he can play 20 minutes the next time and so on.
"This is the process. He has to work hard and have the right mentality."