Why we must be patient with Bendtner

We have to believe that Wenger knows his players better than we do, therefor his decision to play Bendtner on the wing must be because, in his judgement, the player is not good enough to be a target man.

Bendtner’s first touch is consistently poor, it was precisely that poor touch that bamboozled the Ipswich defender and allowed him to turn and score his goal. Comparisons with Thierry Henry are ludicrous.

We have had ample time to evaluate his potential, the consensus seems to be that he has reached his peak and it’s just not good enough.

Like many players Bendtner needs a run of games, he was excellent last year keeping our title hopes alive and scored in the Camp Nou. John in Norfolk you need to put some glasses on if you think that wasn’t a deliberate touch to trick the defender. He’s shown in the last couple of performances that he is coming back to last year’s form.

I agree Bendy has shown a poor touch in recent times, but there is no way you can say that his first touch for the goal against Ipswich was poor-far from it, it was world-class. Now all he has to do is reproduce that more consistently.

That Bendtner goal against Ipswich was of the highest calibre. It deserved comparison with a Thierry Henry type special and he just needs a regular run in the team. He’s not the finished article, but can be an extremely valuable player to Arsenal.

i agree with some of the comments about bendtner he has got a pretty bad first touch but he has scored 41 goals and 18 assists in 74 starts mainly as a substitute this is no mean feat. If he had the work rate he would be world class. Also he does miss his fair share of chances but he is always getting chances so he is making the right runs no doubt he is our second striker when fit. He should stay!!

Am I joking? Absolutely not. He did not control the ball, it bounced away from him, as so many balls do. Watch Nasri or Fabregas when they receive the ball, instant close control and awareness of their next move. With Bendtner the ball is never under control and that’s why he so often gives the ball away.

Please don’t insult Thierry Henry with these utterly ridiculous comparisons.

John in Norfolk, not once have I compared Thierry henry and Bendtner as players. I just mentioned Bendtner’s goal against Ipswich was henr-esque, nothing else.

Bendtners first touch for the Ipswich goal was excellent, anybody who has played football can appreciate that. In regards to his position, its clear that he is not a conventional winger however Wenger encourages fluidity and the interchanging of positions. Having him start the game wide right does not stop him getting into central scoring positions.

dont know about u but i can see him fitting perfectly in a 442 system in front of RVP10,however i cant get my head around ho ever is calling for his exit the guy is 23 with huge experience in both club and country ho can only get better

Excellent article, I have been telling this to other Gooners at the office but they wont listen. Personally, I think that if we are playing the trio of Chamakh, Bendtner and Arshavin tomorrow then surely the best solution would be to switch Bendtner to the left wing and Arshavin to the right. As you say, Bendtner is not a player who can run at and beat the full back before crossing and his great goal against Ipswich did come from cutting in from the left handside. This switch also might help Arshavin too, as I’m sure if he got an opportunity to score on his favoured right side he would take it. Anybody else agree?

how can you say it was a poor touch it was probably his best and certainly one of arsenals best this season.

i always like bendtner. i believe he is similar with inzaghi. im not sure many people realized this but almost every time bendtner plays, he will always get into goal scoring positions. after that its a question if he can finish it or not. wenger is right to stick with bendtner, he’ll be an important back up when needed.

First of all everyone who plays right or left midfield are not wingers, the fullbacks at Arsenal do that job, run through the flanks, whip a cross and sometimes even dribble. If you look at the way we play, the fullbacks are part and parcel of most of our attacks. In that case, the attacking three up front are just focal points for our attacks. None of those three hang on to their positions, they revolve around, infact when Rosicky plays the central role, all four of them rotate constantly. This confuses people who mark them. Also, when the fullbacks rush in, the three upfront move into the box and take a more central position, now the fullbacks can either cross the ball or pass it to someone closer, giving us more option. In order to do this successfully, all three players upfront need to be good at passing and also finishing. This season, unlike the last 3-4 seasons, we actually have players who are more confident with their finishing skills (Nasri, Walcott especially). This is Wenger’s approach to breakdown teams that defend with 10 men and its paying nice dividend. Literally, the top three act as 3 strikers and this where Bendtner’s skills come to play. He holds the ball well, decent with his head and also bullies the defenders. This last month though he has shown that he can also whip a cross if needed. By having, 3 strikers and the fullbacks playing the traditional winger’s role, we have almost all our players, except the centre backs, in the opposition half, allowing us to control the game completely (ofcourse, making us more susceptible to counter attacks).

So at the end of it, Bendtner is not wasted as a Winger, he is more of a Striker, who rotates with the central player. He adds more muscle to our attack and adds something unique to our attack.

typical of most arsenal supporters, a player plays a couple of good games and all of a sudden hes the next big thing AGAIN.Two weeks ago everyone was asking for his head for continual poor performances, one goal later its all forgotten. No question it was a quality goal, but its amazing how fickle supporters are. He is inconsistent, has a poor first touch, terrible in the air (amazing for someone so big, compare him to chamma and the heading ability is laughable. Yes he scored a thriller against the scum in december 2007 but has he scored a header since?Half the time in games when the keeper kicks it down field he runs under the ball and misses it, not good hold up play at all),and wastes so many oppurtunities (in the run of games last year yeah he scored a few, but if you remember correctly he wasted countless oppurtunities. One game he had heaps of opputunities and scored none, but half the fans said ‘its ok at least he got in those positions’, what a stupid excuse he should of converted more.

Same goes for adebayor, his one fluke season came about because he strung a season together but largely because you have world class passers in the team like fabregas,nasri, ect. So you will always get excellent delivery, those 30+ goals probably came from 2056 misses.

Arsene is a legend, no manager is better in my opinion, but his one flaw is his stubborness. He persists with these terrible players (denilson especially-dealing with him for a whole season at DM was a joke, especially when he should have bought in a player due to flaminis departure) as though to prove a point. He cant pick gems everytime unfortunently,bendtner and denilson are definently not arsenal quality! We have been patient with them long enough!

JIN – Bendtner may not be good enough and I think you’re right to say that he hasn’t consistently played well but I think the number in red kind of suggests you can’t argue that it was a lucky touch or even if it was that it bounced away from him! It was pretty much perfect for the situation. After the first touch the ball was positioned perfectly in front of him to run on to it.

I would also disagree that it is accepted that he has reached his full potential. As that goal showed and some of the others he’s scored this season in the carling cup he can produce some quality moments and goals. Its just a matter of producing them more often and sometimes this is simply down to needing a run of games as many have said or perhaps some confidence. I know he appears very arrogant so people assume he is always full of confidence but I think its quite possible that he feels differently to what he says and when he plays badly, which he has done on several occassions in an arsenal shirt, it does actually knock his confidence.

Don’t forget he scored over 30 goals in the reserve league when he was 19 which doesn’t happen very often so he must have some kind of ability.

You are consistent in your belief that Bendtner is no good. I am consistent in my belief that he will come good given time. I have always said this and will continue to say this until he either does make it (and I will be proved right ) or is sold (and I will be proved wrong ). That is not fickle. I’ve supported him even in his worst of games.

and you sir are a true fan. fair enough i don’t think denilson or bendtner are good enough but no matter what i will always support them and never boo them while they wear the arsenal shirt. I hope the latter comes good and puts all the parts in his game together, and if he does i will more than happily eat humble pie. I just hope JET does not take as long as bendtner to develop

yeah denilson is a slightly different matter and I don’t think he has shown any improvement since he arrived. However he is a useful squad player and so is Bendtner. As Citeh are finding, it is difficult to have a squad full of superstars and keep them all happy. Sometimes you have to have some players who accept they are squad players for the sake of team spirit.