Nicklas Bendtner says only four Arsenal players were good enough vs Man United

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The majority of the Arsenal squad will want to up their standards after the opening day trip to Old Trafford.

Though Arsenal beat Manchester United 1-0, the Gunners left a lot to be desired, particularly going forward. 

Bruno Fernandes noticed how little Arsenal created, which left new striker Viktor Gyokeres isolated up top. 

It was an overall poor performance from Mikel Arteta’s side, but some certainly had a worse outing than others.  

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Nicklas Bendtner highlights Arsenal’s best performers vs Man United

Gary Neville was unimpressed with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli’s lack of impact on the wings, as both players struggled to support in the final third. 

The Sky Sports pundit also believed Declan Rice couldn’t have been any ‘worse’ at Old Trafford, which was saying something. 

Despite Arsenal sealing three points, the discourse has been largely negative, but one former Gunner was eager to draw attention to those who managed to contribute to the win. 

Speaking to Stadium Astro, Nicklas Bendtner admitted he could only ‘highlight’ four Arsenal players who did enough against United. 

“I don’t think they were impressive at all,” Bendtner admitted.

“It comes down to Raya, the two centre-halves had a great match, Odegaard had lots and lots of energy. They are the four I would highlight.”

Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba’s partnership stayed strong against United, while Raya earned man of the match, and Martin Odegaard did his best to settle things in midfield. 

Despite shedding light on those who did impact the game, Bendtner made it clear that Arsenal didn’t do ‘enough’ as a collective, making the win rather surprising.

“Apart from that, I don’t think Arsenal really came with enough. They were completely run over in the second half, a draw would’ve been fair, but I’m happy we nicked 1-0.”

Bendtner’s terrible record vs Manchester United

It’s no surprise that Bendtner was happy with the result, as, in his playing career, he recorded one win against Man United. 

The striker never scored and never assisted against the Red Devils, having a horrible record when coming up against United.

Bendtner lost an eye-watering 81% of his games against Man United, winning once in 11 appearances, drawing once and losing nine times.

When representing Arsenal, the striker was involved in eight defeats, making the disappointment of Sunday’s result a stark representation of how standards have changed.