The curious case of Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal)
What do you do when you are a goal down against the Red Devils at Old Trafford? What are your choices when two of your five substitutes are defenders and the other one is a Goalkeeper? Do you have any choice other than bringing on your least preferred striker who hasn’t started a single league game in almost two and a half years? Can you help yourself not making the change or look from the sidelines as your team is unable to break down a resilient opposition, who are on an unbeatable streak in seven games and looking to reclaim their ruthless winning ways which they were the epitome of?
Just twelve hours earlier the ‘striker’ in question had expressed himself openly to the Media, “Everything was in place for me [to leave], there were three clubs that were just waiting for me to say ‘yes please’ to them,” he told Berlingske. “I was very disappointed when he [Wenger] phoned because I was ready to move on. I didn’t actually think that they wished to keep me. As I have been at the club since I was 16 I found it ridiculous that they placed me in the reserves and let me train on my own. [But] suddenly everything was like old times again. I was training with the first team, I was hanging out with the first team and I had a dietitian again. From being completely out to being completely in again.”
Twenty minutes to salvage the game and avoid a defeat at least, as Nikolas Bendtner came on much to the dismay of the Gunners’ fans. A poor first touch, a failed attempt to get his left foot to a curling Sagna cross summed up the night for the Danish striker. The lack of squad depth would certainly be a cause of concern for Wenger in a massive as far as Arsenal’s title credentials are concerned. Arsenal do look the most settled team in the Premier League campaign so far, losing only one game prior to Sunday’s defeat at Old Trafford.
The folly of failing to sign a striker who could change a game would certainly be at the back of Wenger’s mind and selling Bendtner for whatever price he gets in January has to be the priority. Olivier Giroud with his immaculate ball retaining skills and holding them up for his team mates has been there to see but Arsenal need to find a quality centre forward who can change games by his enormous poaching abilities someone like Chicharito of Manchester United, who takes the right place at the right time. Or someone like El Sharaaway of AC Milan who can change the course of the game single-handedly. But the question remains will Wenger splash the extra cash needed to secure the services of the marquee players who might make the difference late on in the season?
History have suggested us that teams who have peaked early hardly win the English Premier League Title, it’s all about the squad depth, which for arsenal unfortunately looks wafer thin. Gone are the days of Thierry Henry or Dennis Bergkamp and their Invincibles, its up to the current crop to shine as the skies above Emirates might turn azure come next summer.