Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner has revealed that he was overwhelmed by the fans reaction to him when he played against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday night in the Capital One Cup victory.
The Dane was making his first appearance for the club in two years and there was a lot of speculation regarding how he would be welcomed by the travelling fans.
However, they took to him and supported him throughout the 120-minutes and even chanted his name after he netted a spot-kick during the penalty-shoot out.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Bendtner revealed that the fans support made his night very emotional.
“It was just the feeling I had, being back in the shirt and playing,” Bendtner told Arsenal Player. “The fans giving [me] that reception, I didn’t expect that. It made me very emotional. I think that’s the only way really to explain it.
“I’m not a guy who feels a lot of things and talks about my feelings and stuff like that but I felt something when that happened and that’s very unusual for me. I felt I needed to say it.
“It makes a huge difference [having the fans’ support]. It’s something I would have thought about because in the whole transfer window situation, no one denied the fact that I was trying to leave. The boss also said that they were happy to let me go.
“Then a lot of things happened, a lot of things got turned upside down. In football you can never say never. I ended up being here.
“I’m a professional player. My job is to do the best for the Club. Even if I wanted to leave, I’ve still got a lot of feelings for the Club. It’s not a difficult thing for me to come back.”
The 25-year-old has admitted that he wanted to leave the club in the summer, but he has now stated that he will fully-focus on the team he is playing for.
“One minute you’re going and the next you’re staying,” he said. “It’s part of life and you know that this situation could happen. Then again, this is my job – to play for Arsenal.
“Even though I wanted to leave, now that I’m here, I don’t feel bad about it. I’m quite happy still and I still have a lot of good fiends in the team.
“I know the Club inside out so the transition period is not going to be huge because I know the way we play and the way everyone thinks.
“To get back into the team is just a matter of fitness and playing 120 minutes, which I did on Wednesday and didn’t expect after being out for a while. I was very pleased with that.
“I’m just going to crack on now, keep working hard and get back to full fitness to help the Club achieve the goals they want.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
