Arsenalinsider’s Mike Harvey recently wrote about how Niklas Bendtner must prove his critics at Arsenal wrong, and while I totally agree with the point which is being made I still have some sympathy for the striker. The big Dane has not been at his best recently, constantly being let down by a poor touch here and a poor pass there, but while he continues to frustrate Gooners it must be remembered he is being played horribly out of position by Arsene Wenger.
Whatever anyone thinks of Bendtner, whether you rate him or loathe him, he is not a winger. The decision to keep employing him out wide baffles me every time. Granted, there have been a couple of bright moments, firstly the cross to Robin Van Persie at Elland Road was brilliant and then his goal against Ipswich was memorable and sometimes people need to play out of position due to injury, but we are hardly without wingers.
It is time Wenger and Arsenal fans everywhere realised this and stopped expecting him to beat a full-back with his devastating speed and whip in a cross. It is unfair to expect him to do this. He is a big target man, who has the added ability of playing the ball on the deck and he has an eye for goal as well, as we all saw in the Carling Cup semi-final last week.
The opener against the Tractor Boys was a stunning goal and if Thierry Henry had scored it everyone would still be raving about it and would the praise would continue for years to come.
But it is this ability and his physical attributes which give me confidence about what the future holds for the Dane, if he knuckles down and works hard, but he needs to be taken of the flank.
Without much opportunity to shine in his favoured position, Bendtner has quietly racked up five goals in all competitions from only ten starts, including three goals in four Carling Cup appearances.
It must also be remembered for large parts of last season the former FC Copenhagen trainee led the line for the Gunners in the absence of Robin Van Persie, scoring 15 goals in the process.
This shows he is much better at getting on the end of a cross rather than trying to deliver it.
I must point out that while this may seem like an article praising the 23-year-old, I am in agreement with many Gooners about Bendtner. His touch is poor and at times he really looks disinterested. He definitely needs to do more to convince me and many of the Emirates faithful and look like he is interested in wearing the red and white shirt, but to do this believe he needs to be given a chance upfront.
Obviously that is difficult as Van Persie is on fire at the moment but the time has come for this Bendtner experiment to stop. he is better off sitting on the bench than playing out wide.
Then when he gets his opportunity up front, only then can we truly judge the ability of the Danish iinternational forward.
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