But Sam Allardyce has revealed why N'Zogbia has started the new season with Newcastle United in such a sparkling fashion.
Geremi Helped To Get N'Zogbia's 'Head Together'
The first is obviously a change in manager, but Sam says the biggest influence has been new skipper Geremi.
It would not have been a surprise if N'Zogbia had moved on in the summer after he wasted the whole of last season, but instead he has signed a new five-year contract and is now a key United player.
Arsene Wenger once made comment that the French Under-21 international was a "star of the future" and many expected the Arsenal boss to make an offer ... which never came.
Allardyce: "To be fair, Geremi's probably done more of a job than me about him overcoming the problems he had.
"I've obviously helped in that department, but no more than him, in saying 'why do you want to go anywhere other than Newcastle?' And the answer to that is there is nowhere else.
"We've resolved that by giving him a new contract and telling him that he can play in a number of positions. If you've got a Newcastle shirt and you're on the team-sheet, what more do you want?
"Charles has taken the left-back spot, which has been really tricky for the club for a long time, and he's filled the spot and done exceptionally well while Jose Enrique's been getting up to speed.
"There's no saying Jose can take his place now.
"Against West Ham, Charles moved up a space and looked very threatening from a wide left position.
"He contributed a lot, and I'm very excited about this young lad.
"He's a big, big player for us as far as I'm concerned."