Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes striker Nicklas Bendtner proved to the fans that he still loves the club and still shows heart whenever he puts on the shirt.
The Danish international featured for Wenger last night for the first time in over two years and despite looking a bit rusty, he managed to set up the side’s goal against West Bromwich Albion after putting through younster Thomas Eisfeld.
The game eventually went to penalties and The Gunners eventually got through 4-3 on spot-kicks, with Bendtner scoring one of them.
After the game, Wenger spoke to the media and said to the fans that the wantaway striker proved that he still cares for the club.
“Overall he was fantastic,” Wenger told Arsenal Player.
“He fought on his own up front for two hours tonight and he has shown that he has a desire to come back and that he has some heart. He worked very hard to come back to this level and tonight he has shown he has the quality.”
“He’s still an Arsenal boy. You don’t arrive at a club at the age of 15 like he did and have all these years here without having any feeling for the Club.
“I think he has an honest feeling for the Club. He wanted to leave because he had some turbulence in his career. He wanted to play, you can understand that completely and I accepted it. It [the move] didn’t work and now he’s ready for a fight. He will get his chance.
“I think he did very well, for a first game,” added Wenger. “You have to take your hat off to him because he has worked very hard. Physically, he is the guy who has worked the hardest of all because he came back in a very bad shape.
“Credit to him, he put the effort in and he has shown last night that even [after playing] 120 minutes in his first game [back], he never had any cramp or muscle problem. He finished the game well.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
