Nicklas Bendtner: “I will never go back to Arsenal,” he is quoted as saying in The Sun. “If I can have it my way, I will never play for them again.”
OK. Part of this lashing out is Arsene Wenger’s fault for sticking Bendtner out in the wings, in areas, where he was ineffectual. Part of the problem is Arsenal’s micro-managing passing game where a striker becomes a bystander. But Bendtner when he had his chances never really capitalized on them. I still have nightmares of the Barca second leg where he could have cemented his place in the pantheons of heroes if his first touch had been more deft with just Victor Valdes to beat. That is Bendtner’s gestalt. A striker with clogs for feet.
Confidence is a wonderful quality to have especially in strikers but it is much better when matched with the requisite technical ability. There is no point being a legend in your mind. I’m sure Bendtner’s negativity will make those Stoke fixtures which has never lacked for grudges just a lot edgier.