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Bendtner’s Time To Shine

I was delighted for Nicklas Bendtner when I heard the news that he had finally secured a move away from Arsenal on Transfer Deadline Day. I have been a strong admirer of the Danish international for a long time and although he has many more doubters than fans in England, I believe he has all the attributes necessary to still be a top forward in the Premier League.

 

Bendtner came into the English game six years ago when he signed for Arsenal at the tender age of 17. And after a fairly quiet first season where, like so many Arsenal youngsters, he was restricted to a few appearances in the League Cup, he joined Steve Bruce’s Birmingham City in the Championship on a season-long loan for the 2006/07 season. In that season, the Blues secured promotion to the Premier League with the 6ft 3in Dane playing a pivotal role in the side and scoring 11 goals in 38 games. Amongst speculation that Birmingham would try tempt Arsene Wenger into letting the young striker join them on a permanent basis for their assault on the Premier League the following season, the Frenchman decided that Bendtner had proven himself worthy of a place in Arsenal’s First Team squad and no deal was done.

 

Even at that point I was concerned that at only 18 years of age, Bendtner needed to spend another season on-loan, perhaps at a more established Premier League club, in order to get used to the demands and pressures of plying his trade in the most competitive league in the world. It transpired that Bendtner only played 945 minutes of league football in a total of 27 games (20 of which were from the bench) during the season following his return to the Gunners. In those 945 minutes (equivalent to 10 full games) he scored 5 goals and, in the eyes of the expectant Arsenal fans and the English media, he was a failure. This failure tag has stuck with him ever since and the weight of the added pressure resulted in him becoming a nervous performer and, regardless of the player’s outward impressions, a player severely lacking in confidence.

 

In his four seasons at Arsenal he has made 98 appearances for Arsenal in the Premier League but only 50 starts. In those 98 league appearances he scored 22 times. The problem for the 23 year old Dane is that he has never and probably will never fit into the style of football that Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal live by. Their slow build-up and short passing attacking mentality is not suited to the traditional targetman kind of player that Bendtner undoubtedly is. When Bendtner has played, he has been made to play from wide positions rather than centrally and was asked to create goalscoring opportunities rather than being in front of goal to finish them off. Bendtner, like all strikers, needs to be scoring goals in order to play with confidence. If a striker is not given a run of games to find his scoring form then his confidence will suffer and that is the exact situation that Bendtner finds himself in. Unfortunately at a club like Arsenal, where instant results are expected, a striker that fails to produce from day one may not get the chance again for some time (Marouane Chamakh is a prime example). Bendtner’s lack of creative impact on games when coming off the bench coupled with his inability to adapt into Wenger’s attacking philosophy has effectively finished his Arsenal career and left him out in the cold at the Emirates Stadium.

 

I have said to anyone that will listen for a long time now that if Bendtner was to make a move within the Premier League to a club where expectation levels are a little lower than at Arsenal and where he is given the time to find his scoring touch, he could be a top player. Sunderland fit that bill perfectly and Steve Bruce is a manager who has worked with Bendtner before and will fancy that he can get the best out of him. If the Black Cats opt to play him as their main targetman as most expect, I believe he has the ability to be a real success. In my opinion, he is everything you would want in a traditional centre forward – big and strong, he is good in the air and through his Arsenal education he is stronger technically than most in that mould.

 

Many will disagree with what I’ve said and hopefully some will agree with parts of it. Either way please share your opinion as without debate, football becomes just a game.

 

Now that Nicklas Bendtner has finally done what he should have done three years ago, is this the year that he fulfils his potential and cements himself as one of the best strikers in the Premier League?