After failing to seal a move away from the Emirates this summer, Nicklas Bendtner has vowed to kick-start his career at Arsenal and show Arsene Wenger what he’s made of.
The 25-year-old has not featured for the Gunners for the past two seasons, having been loaned out to Sunderland and Juventus, and looked set to depart the Emirates for Crystal Palace having held talks with the club South East London club,
However, Wenger was unsuccessful in his season-long loan bid to sign Demba Ba from Chelsea and, as a result, asked Bendtner to stay put.
The Denmark international said:
‘It’s no secret that Arsenal and myself had agreed that I could leave the club during the 2013 summer transfer window subject to an agreement between all parties.
‘An agreement had been reached with more than one club this week but as Arsenal were unable to secure the services of another striker, they reserved their right to not sanction any deal to be concluded.
‘Naturally, I was very disappointed as I was looking forward to a new challenge, with a new club and a fresh start in English football.
‘Many things have been said about where my future lies after many years at Arsenal; the truth is I just want to play football which is when I’m happiest and Arsenal is a fantastic environment for any professional to apply their trade.’
He continued by saying:
‘I still feel very strongly about Arsenal Football Club and following positive talks with the manager, I am looking forward to working hard to regain full fitness and doing my very best to help to the team and the manager fulfil our objectives and ambitions this season.
‘I’ve learnt a lot from my loan experiences at Sunderland and Juventus and I want to assure all Arsenal fans that I will give everything I have to contribute to what I believe will be a successful season for the club.’
His attitude in the past has been nothing but poor and petulant, but I’m glad to hear that, despite not leaving the club, he is fully committed to the cause and ready to fight for a place in the side.
It’s no secret; we did need another striker to come in this summer and many of us will be unhappy that Wenger didn’t pay the cash to sign Gonzalo Higuain, who signed for Napoli instead.
But Bendtner is like a new signing for us. He hasn’t played for us in the past two seasons, and although he isn’t all that the Dane is a cover option to Olivier Giroud should the French forward become jaded or suffer a long-term injury during the course of the season.
It’s an extra body in the squad which we will need and I’m sure we will see Bendtner play for us from now until May.
U have stated it very clearly, ” just another body”
he needs to make a commitment to be better.he has the attributes.
Typical of the peacock to make it sound like he was persuaded to stay in order to help the cause. Can we forget that his transfer window opened since the beginning of the year, and he had more than enough time to seal a deal, but kept demanding very high wages, when his priority should have been to play regular football and revive his career?
By leaving it till the last day, he left Wenger no choice. We need someone to play in the Capital Cup, and it certainly wouldn’t be Giroud.
I personally think that Arsene should have released this guy like he did many others. Now we are stuck with him for another season.
Bendtner has talent and can play in the EPL. He is familiar with the system. He will be much chastened, and I hope more mature, this time around. I was hoping this would happen, actually. NB will see a lot of minutes in cup competitions and give OG a break. I see Bendtner chipping in with 8 or 9 goals, a couple of those in the EPL. It’s a smart move all around.
Come on people, yes Bendtner has had some issues, in fact, quite a lot of issues, in the past but he is, at the end of the day, still a Gunner. I am not a big fan of Bendtner but i still believe we should all give the guy a chance and see how things go. The guy is not a bad player really, not good, but decent and as a cover for Giroud, I think he can still do the job. If he does play, I really hope the fans will cheer for him. Perhaps a little love and encouragement from the fans will motivate our B52 bomber to be at his best. The fact that he has made such a statement is a good start. As long as he is committed, we at least have another player to go to.
Hey guys, let us give Bendtner a break. He has been with us for so long and should have some Arsenal DNA running around, he is actually not that bad and can get a run in the domestic competitions to start with. He is actually more than a body.
He can be a very descent player if played as a striker and not a wing mand as wenger did to him. It messed up his game. Have you ever seen crouch play out wide. Makes no sence. He’s had a bad attitude for a very young guy, like most young footballers. Lets give him a chance now he’s older and wiser. If he can do for us what he does for the danish national team it will be a bonus. So lets cheer him on. And see if that talent comes to life
With a positive attitude,he’s better than Demba BA in my opinion.