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Once hailed as a world class prospect, Bendtner begins one last attempt at greatness

Once hailed as a world class prospect, Bendtner begins one last attempt at greatness

In a summer filled with big money transfers and famous returns, only one deal caught Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger off guard.

“It was a surprise to me, but at some stage he needs to re-start his career,” Wenger said of Nicklas Bendtner’s move to Nottingham Forest. “When you have no club there are no small clubs, there is only football. You have to adapt. We are in a job where we have to show what we are capable of, to put our effort in everywhere and be able to compete. Sometimes when you’re a player of his quality you just need an opportunity.”

Some may argue Wenger afforded Bendtner that opportunity at Arsenal. The Danish international signed for the Gunners as a fresh-faced teenager in 2004, and excelled in their youth academy. .“We already have a young [Nicola] Zigic in our youth team – Bendtner,” Wenger said at the time.

From there, he was sent to Birmingham City on loan. Working under the guidance of Steve Bruce, Bendtner showed flashes of his precocious talent. In November 2006 he produced a man of the match performance that left Bruce purring. "We haven’t got an 18-year-old like him in the country,” declared Bruce. “All of a sudden everybody’s starting to know who Nicklas Bendtner is. Three months ago none of you knew. He’s learning and getting better and today can only do him a world of good.”

Writing at the time, David Ornstein in the Guardian described him as ‘gangly yet deceptively graceful centre forward’. More recently, Ian Holloway likened him to another Scandinavian striker. “I nearly signed Nicklas Bendtner at Crystal Palace,” Holloway told Sky Sports. “I actually really liked him as a person. If we had got the deal done, I reckon I could’ve got something out of him. He’s a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-type of player in terms of ability, the only difference is Ibrahimovic keeps himself fit and is able to keep scoring.”

Bendtner would end the 2006-2007 season with eleven goals, and a burgeoning reputation in English football. Making his senior international debut during the same season, it begs the question: where did it go wrong?

Perhaps the answer lies in Ornstein’s report from Turf Moor all those years ago. He noted at the time that Bendtner displayed, 'a worrying arrogance’ during several altercations with referee Keith Wright.

It would not be the first time that Bendtner would stray from the grounds of confident into the realm of cocky. At times it manifested in his actions, like when was embroiled in a late night argument with a pizza shop owner. The forward’s card had been declined, and according to onlookers he told staff: “Don’t you know who I am? I can buy the whole pizzeria.”

“If you ask me if I am one of the best strikers in the world, I say yes because I believe it,” he said in a 2010 interview. “When I see that other strikers score a lot of goals, I realise I need to score those goals. But I think everything else in my game is right. Even if I believe I can still improve. But the goals are the last thing I need to add and when I do I believe I will be the player I want to be. One of the best.”

Such overt displays of self-confidence are ridiculed when not backed up by on field performances. At Arsenal, Bendtner flattered to deceive. His aerial presence, and target man traits never shone through consistently, with the Dane ultimately struggling to earn the leading role up front.

Yet there was still enough in his displays to tempt other clubs. During the 2008-2009 season he made seventeen Premier League starts for Arsenal and scored nine goals. During a loan spell at Sunderland in 2011-2012 a return of eight goals came from twenty-five games. Yet they always seemed like flickers of promise that never sparked into fulfilled potential.

Other teams attempted to resurrect him. He had a loan spell at Juventus before signing for German side Wolfsburg, with Holloway presenting his own theory on why he did not succeed. "He’s a player that needs to feel wanted,” Holloway said. “I don’t think Bendtner has ever really felt appreciated. That’s the impression I got from him –he needs to be loved.”

Perhaps that requirement is why the Dane has always shone at international level. Currently out of the frame for his country, he has at times been a saviour during his 72 appearances. His performances against Portugal during qualification for the World Cup in 2010 were memorable, as he netted in both fixtures to help his team earned a combined four points.

However, Bendtner’s lack of commitment at club level continued to be detrimental to his career. Released by Wolfsburg in April, he departed aged twenty-eight, and amid little fanfare. With age can come clarity and maturity though. “I’ve made many mistakes in my life. It’s in the past. I’m just looking to the future,” said the man who scored forty-seven goals for Arsenal.

The question now is whether Bendtner can indeed fulfil the promise he has left. Training at local club FC Copenhagen before Forest called, the striker cut a more humble figure during his unveiling recently. “I think a lot of people who know me very closely would say that Nicklas without football does not have a full life,” Bendtner said. “Let me just put it this way –it’s very, very important that I’m back. It means such a great deal to me.”

Now back in the league that launched his career, Bendtner has not traversed the heights that were expected when he left Birmingham City in the summer of 2007. Blessed with one last chance to make it to the top, the climb started on Wednesday night with his first goal for Nottingham Forest in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.

A goal that helped earn a point for Philippe Montanier, it may also have raised a wry smile on the face of a former mentor that never stopped believing in him. “We know all his qualities,” Wenger said last week. “We know that he is a top quality player, but you need to play.”