I wanted to post a very interesting article i just read, i hope it puts things into perspective...
If you read a lot of blog posts and articles about Nicklas Bendtner everything will tell you that he is an awful striker. If you happened to watch Arsenal's matches against Roma or Blackburn you may have seen with your very own eyes what Nicklas has to offer. I myself have even been particularly scathing towards the young Dane. After his petulant performance against Burnley in the Carling Cup, I wrote a fake letter from Nike to Bendtner that ordered him to stop wearing his pink Nike boots as he was tainting their reputation. However, in the past few months the Dane's performances have began to reassure me that he really is the real deal.
Bendtner's statistics are surprisingly good. This season he has scored 12 goals, as many as Emmanuel Adebayor. It is true that Bendtner has made 11 more appearances than the Togolese, but 16 of these have been from the bench. Some of Bendtner's goal have also been vital, last minutes winners at home against Bolton and Dynamo Kiev were priceless.
This season pundits and journalists alike have been waxing lyrical about a certain young Villa striker, Gabriel Agbonlahor. But, you guessed it, Nicklas Bendtner has in fact scored more than the Englishman. In 40 appearances (39 starts) Agbonlahor has scored 11 goals, compare that to Bendtner who in 39 appearances (with only 23 starts) has scored 12 goals. Agbonlahor is also a year older that the Dane. Bendtner is still only 21, especially young for a Big Four striker that gets as many appearances and goals as he does. Looking at the ages and records of Adebayor, Bendtner's ahead of the curve. Considering Bendtner was only 20 last season, his tally of 9 goals was impressive especially goals against Tottenham, Villa and Liverpool, one of which being a winner, two being equalisers. When Adebayor was 22 at Arsenal (older than Bendtner is now) he could only salvage 4 goals. At 23, Adebayor's season tally was 12 goals, the same number Bendtner has for this season, at only 21.
Bendtner's new found "hustle" (to use an Americanism) has also benefitted the team. Look no further than Arsenal's equaliser at Hull in the FA Cup. After an embarrassing air shot, he chased down the ball crossing it to Arshavin who pulled it back for Van Persie to hammer home. In all competitions Bendtner also has 4 assists to his name. His aerial threat is also incredibly useful. In the absence of Adebayor he has provided a target man and while his heading is sometimes erratic he is capable of some top quality ones, like his goal at Newcastle this weekend.
Bendtner's eye for a pass has also been something that has gone unnoticed. He created Andre Oojier's own goal against Blackburn with a threaded through ball to Walcott, he set up Adebayor's goal away at West Ham with a beautiful ball deep from inside his own half and finally away at Newcastle Van Persie should have opened the scoring after a perfectly floated ball from the Dane. Marauding runs have also become a feature of his game and more and more we can see Bendtner beating a handful players at a time. While admittedly these don't always pay off, it shows that Bendtner does have that ability and that it just needs to be honed.
Much has been made of Bendtner's supposed over-confidence and arrogance. Personally, I get more and more frustrated by this perception. Much of this stems from a mistranslated interview Bendtner did in Denmark. "I should be playing every minute of every game," was the most quoted misquote. While Bendtner's ego is certainly bigger than the likes of Gael Clichy and Cesc Fabregas, I wouldn't say its bigger than those of Robin Van Persie or Emmanuel Adebayor. Maybe Van Persie and Adebayor have earned that right, but it pains me to see Bendtner, at his age, vilified for fairly tenuous incidents.
These comments of arrogance and over-confidence are somewhat surprising as I think its clear the obstacle preventing Bendtner from taking more of his chances is in fact confidence. Looking at the games where Bendter has scored, its clear his confidence in himself soars. A cameo appearance from the Dane away at Hull saw him slot the third Arsenal goal and smash the post. An early goal at West Brom lead to an expert finish for his second and Arsenal's third as well as some classy runs and nothing but the width of the post preventing him from a hat-trick. I'm adamant that had Bendtner been played in by Van Perise against Newcastle, he would have slotted a second goal. Bendtner's plethora of missed chances against Roma and Blackburn stemmed out of a lack of confidence from previous missed chances. This coupled with the crowd's unforgiving moans and groans doesn't help him.
The most important factor is that Bendtner has time on his side. Wenger has seen many a young striker rise up through the ranks and his belief in Bendtner is unwavering. As Wenger said "I've seen players miss chances before when they are young and then once they start to score they quickly get impressive." I accept that Bendtner's performances can be frustrating, but I'm confident that he will become a top player. In a sense the prodigious nature of Fabregas' rise at Arsenal has been detrimental for other younger players. Arsenal fans are desperate to compare every young talent to Fabregas and it is possible that no one will ever match up. The fans need to cut Bendtner more slack, step back and take a closer look at his goal scoring record. I believe in Bendtner and you should too.
Andrew McPhail
http://timesonline.typepad.com/fanzine_ ... belie.htmlI highlighted some bits in bold because these IN my opinion are things he gets stick for...