Nicklas Bendtner
Nicklas Bendtner is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker. A large, tall, and physically strong player, he was known for his ability in the air and possessed a powerful header.
Having progressed through the youth ranks at Tårnby Boldklub, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub and Arsenal, Bendtner signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in 2005. He made his debut in October 2005 in the League Cup against Sunderland. For the 2006–07 season, Bendtner was loaned out to Championship club Birmingham City, where he made 48 appearances. Following his return to Arsenal, he became a regular first team player, but began to slip out of favour during the 2010–11 season. As a result, he moved on loan to Premier League club Sunderland for the majority of the 2011–12 season, where he made 30 appearances. He then spent the entire 2012–13 season on loan to Serie A club Juventus, where he made 10 appearances but failed to score. Bendtner was released by Arsenal in 2014. He subsequently joined VfL Wolfsburg on a free transfer, for whom he scored the winning goal in the 2015 DFL-Supercup. Released in 2016, he returned to England, where he spent the first half of the 2016–17 season with Nottingham Forest of the Championship, and in March 2017 he signed for Rosenborg.
Bendtner has played internationally for Denmark at under-16, under-17, under-19, under-21 and senior levels. He made his senior international debut as an 18-year-old, on 16 August 2006 in a friendly match against Poland, and scored his first international goal in that match. Bendtner was a member of Denmark's 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012 squads, and helped them qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Club career
Youth career
Bendtner was born in Copenhagen. As a child, he played football for Tårnby Boldklub before joining F.C. Copenhagen's feeder club Kjøbenhavns Boldklub in 1998. He scored four goals in six Danish national youth team matches, before joining English club Arsenal in August 2004.Arsenal
Bendtner formed a prolific strike partnership in the Arsenal reserves with Arturo Lupoli. His first-team debut for Arsenal came on 25 October 2005 in a League Cup match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, as a late substitute for Quincy Owusu-Abeyie.Loan to Birmingham City
Bendtner was loaned to Championship team Birmingham City in August 2006 to gain first team experience; the loan initially ran until January 2007. He made his debut for Birmingham as a substitute for Stephen Clemence against Colchester United on 5 August. He played the final half-hour and scored the winning goal. The loan at Birmingham was extended until the end of the 2006–07 season. He finished with eleven league goals as Birmingham were promoted to the Premier League as Championship runners-up.2007–08 season
Bendtner signed a new five-year contract with Arsenal in May 2007, and returned to the club for the 2007–08 Premier League season. After impressing at Birmingham, the teenage striker was presented with opportunities to seek first-team football elsewhere, with reports that Olympique Lyonnais and Milan wanted the promising teenager, but he stayed on in order to earn his place in the starting eleven.Bendtner scored his first goal at the Emirates Stadium against Paris Saint-Germain in the inaugural Emirates Cup pre-season tournament; he assisted another for Mathieu Flamini and missed a late penalty. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute against Fulham on 12 August 2007. His first competitive strike for the Gunners was the match-winning goal in a 2–0 League Cup match against Newcastle United on 25 September 2007. On 23 October, he scored his debut UEFA Champions League goal in the 89th minute against Slavia Prague, finishing off a back-heeled pass from Emmanuel Eboué to complete a 7–0 win and equal the record Champions League victory.
Bendtner's first Premier League goal came on 22 December 2007 in a 2–1 Arsenal victory in the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium. He headed the winning goal from a Cesc Fàbregas corner just 1.8 seconds after coming on as a substitute for Eboué, breaking the previous record. His first Premier League start came a week later at Everton; he was sent off for two bookable offences. After serving his suspension, he scored his first FA Cup goal against Burnley on 6 January 2008 as Arsenal won 2–0.
During the season, manager Arsène Wenger tried to partner Bendtner with Emmanuel Adebayor whenever Robin van Persie was rested. Bendtner and Adebayor, however, did not get along well. It became apparent during the 2008 League Cup semi-final second leg away at Tottenham when the pair had a heated on-pitch altercation with the scoreline at 4–1 to Tottenham and referee Howard Webb, captain William Gallas, and other teammates had to intervene and separate the two. Adebayor later apologized on Arsenal's website and the Football Association declined to take any formal action against either.
Bendtner also scored a last minute equaliser against Aston Villa to keep Arsenal top of the table.
2008–09 season
The highlight of Bendtner's 2008–09 pre-season was scoring four goals in the first half of Arsenal's 10–2 victory against Burgenland XI on 29 July 2008. He scored his first Premier League goal of the season against Bolton Wanderers and within 90 seconds provided an assist for Eboué to score.Bendtner had a hard time in October and November, but on 25 November, he scored a controversial 87th-minute winner against Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League to ensure Arsenal progressed to the knockout stages. After treatment to an injured player, with Dynamo apparently expecting the ball to be returned to them, Fàbregas hit the ball forward and Bendtner scored with a left-footed shot. He was booked for removing his shirt in celebration. In January, he scored two more goals as a substitute, late winners at home to Bolton and Hull City, both from Van Persie crosses.
On 24 February, Bendtner was goaded after missing a number of chances in the 1–0 win over Roma in the Champions League knockout stages. The following week, he scored two goals at West Bromwich Albion as Arsenal won 3–1. The fans were much more supportive towards him when he missed a string of chances against Blackburn Rovers. Arsenal still won 4–0, thanks to Andrey Arshavin's stunner, and a brace from Eboué. Bendtner got a goal in a 3–1 win at Newcastle United, a header from a long free-kick.
On 5 May 2009, the 21-year-old Bendtner was seen leaving a nightclub hours after Arsenal's 3–1 home defeat by rival side Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final, pictured with his belt undone and jeans pulled down. He later said: "I may be young, but my actions were a poor error of judgment and something I deeply regret." Bendtner was a second-half substitute for Arsenal, who lost 4–1 on aggregate to defending champions United. Bendtner made amends with a goal, albeit a consolation, in a 4–1 defeat to London rival club Chelsea.
2009–10 season
Bendtner started the 2009–10 season by announcing a change in his Arsenal squad number from 26, which he had been allocated initially, to 52, which he claimed was "a special number to personally". He agreed to refund any supporters who had already bought a shirt printed with his original number. He scored his first goal of the season in the Champions League group stage in a 3–2 away win against Standard Liège. On the morning of 27 September, he was involved in a car accident while driving along the A1. He suffered cuts to his knees and shoulder pain, and wrote off his Aston Martin. He returned to action on 4 October and scored his first league goal of the season in Arsenal's 6–2 win over Blackburn Rovers. On 28 October, he scored the winning goal in the League Cup in a 2–1 win against Liverpool.On 10 November, Bendtner underwent surgery in Germany after aggravating a groin injury in the 3–0 win on 31 October playing against Tottenham Hotspur. He was expected to be out for up to four weeks, but did not return until 27 January in a 0–0 draw at Villa Park. He started his first match after recovering from his injury and played 82 minutes in Arsenal's victory over Liverpool on 10 February to complete his return to full fitness. Ten days later, he scored his first league goal since October with the opener in a 2–0 home defeat of Sunderland. He followed this up with the equalising goal in a 3–1 win against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on 27 February.
On 9 March, Bendtner scored the first hat-trick of his professional career in a 5–0 victory over Porto in the second leg of the Champions League first knockout round to overturn their 2–1 loss in the first leg. Four days later, he scored a stoppage-time winning goal against Hull City to put the Gunners level on points with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League. Another stoppage-time winner followed in the 1–0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on 3 April.
Bendtner won the Arsenal Player of the Month award for his performances in March, taking over 33% of the votes. He scored the only goal for Arsenal in a 4–1 defeat to Barcelona at the Camp Nou as they were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-final on 6 April.
2010–11 season
After worsening his groin problem during the 2010 World Cup, and spending almost four months out of action, Bendtner's first appearance of the season came as a substitute against Birmingham City on 16 October. On 24 October, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 away win against Manchester City. Three days later, he scored again in a match against Newcastle United in the League Cup at St James' Park, as Arsenal won 4–0. Bendtner scored his first goal of 2011 on 25 January against Ipswich Town in the League Cup, to level the aggregate score at 1–1. Arsenal won the match 3–0, and 3–1 on aggregate. The goal earned him the Arsenal Goal of the Month award for January. On 2 March, Bendtner scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup fifth round replay against League One team Leyton Orient. it was his first hat-trick for nearly a year, and the first by an Arsenal player in an FA Cup tie since Ian Wright's against Yeovil Town in 1993.Bendtner was left out of Arsenal's 2011 summer tour of Asia while talks took place over a transfer. Amid rumours of interest from Stoke City and Borussia Dortmund, as well as confirmed interest from Hamburg sporting director Frank Arnesen, Bendtner made public his desire to leave Arsenal in August, citing the need for first-team football as motivation.