HE might be Newcastle's player of the season so far, but Geremi last night revealed just how close an in-form Charles N'Zogbia came to walking out of the club this summer.

N'Zogbia's Newcastle career appeared to be as good aclas over in May, when he refused to sit on the bench at Vicarage Road during the final game of last season.

Both Fulham and Portsmouth inquired about the Frenchman's availability during the summer transfer window, and N'Zogbia had all but decided to leave Tyneside when Geremi completed a free transfer from Chelsea in early July.

Feeling an early affinity for a fellow French speaker, Geremi opted to take the 21-year-old under his wing from the earliest days of their time together at United's training ground.

Gradually, he convinced him to give life at Newcastle another chance, a decision that has already worked to the club's advantage this season.

"At the beginning of the season, when I first joined the club, it was in Charles' mind to leave Newcastle United," revealed Geremi, ahead of this evening's Carling Cup third-round tie at Arsenal. "I persuaded him to stay because I saw the quality he's got.

"I took Charles under my wing.

At the first training session, I looked at him and saw he was a bit down. He was speaking French so I had a chat with him and discovered he wanted to leave.

"I said, Come on!' I asked him where he was going to go, he told me the club, and I said, Don't make that kind of mistake'. I have a lot of experience and I told him that where he wanted to go was not good.

"I told him that Newcastle is far better than the club he wanted to join, although I can't tell you which club that was!"

Having fallen out with Newcastle's previous manager, Glenn Roeder, N'- Zogbia was given a further incentive to remain on Tyneside when current boss Sam Allardyce took him to one side and insisted he would start the season with a clean slate.

Having been impressed with N'Zogbia's efforts in pre-season, Allardyce handed the France Under-21 international a starting spot at left-back in Newcastle's opening game of the campaign at Bolton.

N'Zogbia duly scored in a 3-1 win and has not looked back since.

He was the Magpies' most impressive performer in Sunday's 3-1 win over West Ham, again finding the target after being switched into midfield during the second half, and is likely to be one of the few players Allardyce refuses to rest during this evening's League Cup clash.

"Back in the summer, I told Charles to work hard like he has done in the past," said Geremi. "If he did that, he was always going to get a chance. Now, you can see the results.

"He's been great. He's been playing well at left-back, but I think his best position might be left-wing. That's good for the manager.

"It was important for our results that he stayed here, and the club, players and fans are happy that he did."

With Jose Enrique expected to start this evening's game at leftback, Geremi is likely to be alongside N'Zogbia in the Newcastle midfield as the Magpies take on an Arsenal side that will be all but unrecognisable from the outfit that beat Derby 5-0.

As usual, Arsene Wenger will field a number of his younger, fringe players in the Carling Cup, although the fact they reached the final last year should dispel any suggestions that the Arsenal line-up will be second-string'.

Allardyce will bring in the likes of Shay Given, Steven Taylor, Abdoulaye Faye and Shola Ameobi, but Geremi has insisted that the Carling Cup remains high on Newcastle's priority list.

"It's an important competition," claimed the Magpies skipper.

"At the start of the season, I told the players there is a lot to play for, and we're going to fight for every trophy."

Allardyce has developed something of an Indian sign over Wenger in recent seasons, with his Bolton side having enjoyed four victories over the Gunners in the space of three years.

Wenger has been a constant critic of Allardyce's rough-house tactics' and, while the Magpies manager previously refuted such claims, he yesterday admitted that he has developed tactical ploys specific to the Gunners.

"If I told you what they were, you'd put them in the paper," he joked. "He's (Wenger) not managed to work them out yet so I might as well keep them going.

"We have to make sure the players are aware of how we managed to beat them at Bolton.

If they take that on board, they'll have a chance. If they don't, we'll suffer at the hands of Arsenal like others have this year."