It hasn't been the best of times for Nicklas Bendtner in recent years. He has struggled to find his way into the first team and make a significant impact at any of the three clubs he has played for since the start of 2010, after failing at all of Arsenal, Juventus and Sunderland. Getting into trouble with the police on various occasions, the last of which signalled a bitterly disappointing end to what was a promising career ahead, a hefty fine for revealing a Paddy Power logo, and a six month international ban for drink driving are just some of the things that have blighted the career of Nicklas Bendtner.
"I won't say that Bendtner is a bad player, but he doesn't improve our club whatsoever either"
If that wasn't enough, his lack of goals for teams has also been concerning. After originally being told that he was too fat to play for Juventus, Bendtner got to work losing weight to make sure he could get into the first team, although when he did, his impact was minimal. The club were quoted at the time as saying that he 'clearly wasn't the player that they wanted, but nobody else was available, and reinforcements were necessary'. Despite this, he went on to play eleven games for The Old Lady in total, failing to score a single goal in the process.
Bendtner's career took off as an 18-year old striker with his whole future ahead of him, a loan move to a Birmingham team managed by Steve Bruce was on the cards. Although he lacked any real first team experience, Birmingham were there to give him a helping hand and start off the career of what looked to be another exciting prospect for the Gunners. 11 league goals in the Championship and 13 goals for the Blues was enough for Arsène Wenger to reward the Dane with a new five-year contract at the start of the 2007-08 season.
After the departure of Thierry Henry to FC Barcelona, the next three years were all about a formidable striking partnership between Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner, with Emmanuel Adebayor playing some part in the first of the three seasons. 75 goals were scored between the two of them across the 2007-2010 period, 39 of these for van Persie, and the other 36 falling for Nicklas Bendtner.
A video of Nicklas Bendtner's 47 goals for Arsenal.
More controversy struck in 2009, when fans were outraged at the change of Bendtner's shirt number from 26 to 52, a number which many believe was to represent the player doubling his wages from £25,000-a-week to in excess of £50,000-a-week in another new contract, although this has not been proven. He agreed to cover the costs for anybody who had already bought a Bendtner 26 shirt. He wasn't doing too bad a job repaying them with his performances on the pitch, with 12 goals from 31 games in the 2009-10 season, though a car accident and injuries across the season restricted him to substitute appearances and large gaps in his playing time.
His impact for his country has not gone unnoticed, with 24 goals in 56 appearances, including crucial goals during World Cup and EURO 2008 and 2012 qualifying, including an equalising goal against Portugal to send Denmark through to the EURO 2012 finals in Poland/Ukraine. Bendtner has risen through the ranks for the Danish national team, playing from under-16 level right through to the first team. He was and still is considered a great talent in his home country, but his lax performances as of late have seen him frozen out of the national side.
After a miserable three final years at Arsenal, only one of which he spent with the club, he scored 10 goals over 54 appearances with the three sides he played for, 80% of which came at Sunderland, where he scored eight goals in 30 appearances. His time is finally up at Arsenal, but where could Bendtner end up next?
Not many clubs have been linked with Bendtner since he announced that he would be leaving when his contract expires, which he said back at the beginning of April, although interest has risen since Arsenal announced the players that they would release, with Southampton being the surprise package to take him into their club, after the sale of leading striker Rickie Lambert to Liverpool just under a month ago.
Hull City are another side linked with the Dane, a move which would see Bendtner link up with Steve Bruce for a third time, after spells at Sunderland and Birmingham. This comes despite the fact that the Tigers bought Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic just a few months ago. He has also been linked with a move back home, FC Copenhagen were quick to quash any rumour of a return to the city in which he was born.
Bendtner still has the talent left to succeed in the English game, although the likes of Arsenal and other top 10 clubs may be a step too far for him. Some of the other top European clubs have been linked with him in the past year or so, with Borussia Dortmund and FC Basel being the two main clubs reported to be interested, as well as Málaga CF. Based on his previous loan deals, it is clear to see where he can show off his talents in the best way possible. A move to the North of England seems a most likely destination, and Bendtner will be hoping to finally rekindle some of the form that saw him hit the top at Arsenal.
