Exploding the Nicklas Bendtner myths and misconceptions

It is still October last time I checked, we have 2 and a half months until we can sign another player, we are top of the Premiership, have lost one game in about 20 odd. We are top of our Champion’s league group, having destroyed ,with half a team out injured ,one of Europe’s big spending finest and have signed one of the top 5 players, arguably, in world football so one would assume all is rosy with the Gooner fraternity?

Well it would seem not, because despite all the above, with a free scoring striker and 30 plus goals from last season still to come back into the side, if they can get in, all I read is about how we are desperate for another striker. The latest 2 the media/Arsenal social media are suggesting are Benzema, now understudy to Giroud for France and LLorente who last scored consistently in 2012.

It is well documented on this site that I am a Girioud fan, right back from when I suggested we sign him in November 2011 and I also fee Podolski, with the creative players could easily play through the centre if asked to. I have written extensively on both players and their attributes but I have not written myself on one Nicklas Bentdner, who it seen has been widely dismissed by our fans. So has he been dismissed on ability or his attitude and previous comments he has made about Arsenal and his desire not to play for us in recent seasons? On either count my considered opinion is that I don’t agree on either.

So I thought I might explode a few myths and misconceptions, at least from my own perspective:

Bendtner is a money grabbing selfish individual not worth £52k per week!

Arsenal and Wenger offered the player a new 5 year deal in September 2009 on the back of 2 impressive first seasons in the top flight. In 2008/9 Nico has appeared for Arsenal on 50 occasions. He was the club second top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions behind RVP. He has also established himself at only 21 as Denmark’s main striker and won 18 Caps in 08/09 alone.

Worth it?

In the previous season aged only 19/20 he has started 13 games having returned from a season at Birmingham. He had made 36 appearances in total with 23 from the bench and scored 9 times.

Hard to argue at the time with the promise shown that the player did not deserve the pay rise and very easy to understand the clubs motives for wanting to tie him down. Particularly if we add that the Danish football fans had voted him I November 2009 their ‘Player of the Year’ and doubly honoured him with their ‘Goal of the Year’ for a wonder striker v Portugal.

Yes but he has never really done it consistently at the top level!

Well having impressed most fans in his first 2 campaigns we come to the very difficult campaign of 2009/10. From November to February Arsenal lost van Persie and Bendtner to injury and struggled to hand in the title race with Arshavin playing centrally and a frail Eduardo out wide. It was Bentdner who returned first. The Dane started centrally in 13 of the next 14 matches scoring 8 goals including a hat trick against Porto and the opener away at the Camp Nou. Not bad for a mediocre player. In only 29 appearances and only 19 starts he was the clubs highest scoring striker, with only Fabregas outscoring him.

Salutes fans as his penalty completes an impressive Porto hatrick

What was Bendtner’s reward for his endeavours in the Arsenal cause that helps us into Europe’s elite once more? – To be replaced by a free transfer from Bordeaux!

Even in the season where he played third fiddle to RVP and Chamakh it was largely his goals including the quite wonderful goal in the semi-final, that took us to Wembley. His reward for this was to watch us toil against Birmingham from the bench. only getting a late run out. Just in case you had forgotten THE goal I am talking about just go away and google it as I can;t make link work in this blog and just ask yourself if an average player could have scored this goal?

Taken down in flight, cute turn, Henryesque curled finish inside fat post

Yes but 41 goals for Arsenal in 161 games is hardly inspiring is it?

On the face of it perhaps not but if you dig a bit deeper the complexion may change.

Of those 161 games for Arsenal in 4 seasons plus the one in this campaign only 76 were starts. 85 of his games were off the bench and as we all know from Wenger that means no more than 25 minutes each time!

In the 76 games he has started for Arsenal he has 26 goals better than 1 in 3.

Of course for those who have followed Arsenal we all know Wenger gradually moved from a 2 striker system to a 4231 between 2008 and 2009 and Bendtner along with Eduardo and more recently Chamakh suffered due to the change in system, combined with the exhilarating form and surprising fitness of van Persie.

I find it hard to be too scornful of Bendtner’s attitude when he was rewarded for being the club’s top striker in 2009/10, by firstly being dropped to third in the pecking order and to make it worse for an ambitious striker to be continually being played on the wing.

Therein of course lies the real problem with his figures and it makes the assessment of his contribution harder still when you consider his last season and part of the previous was spent entirely being played out of position.

However research and assess I have, well at least from the Premier League. In 4 completed campaigns with Arsenal Nicklas Bendtner has only stared 40 matches as a striker, either one of 2 in 2007-9 or as sole striker in 2009-11 and in those 40 starts he has 15 goals. Again far better than 1 in 3, which is amongst the top echelons in this league?

But surely we need a top international striker to challenge Giroud or play with him?

Well most of you have already discounted Podolski as worthy cover and only about 4 players in the history of German football have scored more for their country than Lukas.

Bendtner has 24 international goals in only 56 internationals including goals at both World and European finals in 2010 and 2012. He is the 7th highest scorer in Danish international history!

3 of those players are not from the modern era and finished playing before even I was born but 3 are greats of the modern game and will be known to all of you

Player	International Goals	Last cap
Jon Dhal Tomasson	52	2010
Pout Neilson	51	1925
Pauli Jorgensen	43	1939
Ole Madsen	40	1969
Preben Elkjaer	37	1987
Michael Laudrup	35	1998
Nicklas Bendtner	24

Nicklas is 25 and having regained his place in the International set up scored twice versus Italy last week. Something the whole English team failed to do in Euro 2012. He should have a good 5 years left at the top level if he can play regular club football and could easily be the greatest Danish goal scorer of all time. I’m sorry but that just does not happen to average players

.

An impressive return for Denmark

I am not saying we should not sign a top international striker but unless we change our system/formation are we actually going to sign a replacement for Olivier Giroud? Surely this is unlikely if move for Ba was real?

Okay but will that career be at Arsenal?

My guess is probably not, but not because I do not rate him as a player. Arsenal and Wenger have nailed their colours firmly to a one striker mast and while this is the case that man is Olivier Giroud. However the key question is not whether Bendtner should play each week nor is it whether he is better than the Frenchman. Stats can argue most things but until we see the Dane playing regularly again we will not know if he has learned his lessons of the past 2 years.

What I do know is that IF Wenger wanted to rest Olivier and play the exact same system then Bendtner is the most like for like player to step in. His hold up play has always been good and his link play although not as deft as the Frenchman’s is acceptable. For me it is a question of using the squad and rotation. In the same way as I now see Arteta and Flamini sharing game time based on the opposition I would happily see Bendtner step in for Giroud when he needs a breather. This weekend against a weaker side such as Norwich and 3 days before crucial Champions League must win tie v Dortmund is a perfect example.

Despite his past comments and his apparent desire not to take a pay cut to leave Arsenal both the player and Arsenal stand to gain if he plays. For Arsenal we have back in the fold, perhaps until next summer a like for like replacement for Giroud who has been here, seen it and done it in this league. A player that has everything to play for, and to prove. Most likely this will be a lucrative contract away from North London but how lucrative and at what level will depend on how he performs for Arsenal. I am sure also any potential suitors will be watching to see if this petulant and arrogant young man has grown up in the past 18 months. There are signs already his attitude had improved and that he is willing to work hard and to put it in again for the cannon. This maybe only for a few months, but we are a football club and it is all about winning matches. If Nicklas Bendtner can help us do that in the short term I have absolutely no problem with him being selected and If I am honest I would sooner see him come on for the last 20 right now than Sanogo.

I have probably rambled on for too long but I hope there is some food for thought at least. I will leave you with one final thought and this one makes me smile.

Together again?

The last time I genuinely felt Arsenal would win the Premiership was 2007/8 and I am beginning to feel the same now. So how ironic that the squad in 2013/14 should have Rosicky, Sagna, Walcott, Diaby and perhaps now Flamini and Bendtner in it? Six of the squad 6 seasons later.