His time has come; Nicklas Bendtner stepped out of the shadows last night.
A hat-trick against Porto has gone a little way to repaying the faith showed by a rather patient Arsène Wenger in Bendtner. Arsenal’s No.52 now has to prove that he is capable of spearheading the Gunners’ flamboyant attacking play on a regular basis.
Wenger has stood by the Danish front man despite the calls for him to be replaced. His performance on Saturday against lowly Burnley would normally result in a return to his bench-warming duties. But either thanks to the lack of physical attacking options in the Arsenal squad, or the incredible faith shown by Wenger, Bendtner retained his starting berth and not for the first time his manager proved a lot of people wrong.
"I hope it will not give him too much confidence," Wenger said. “It's good for him. He played well on Saturday but missed chances. Today he had less chances and scored more goals. I hope it gives him the desire to work even harder."
Due to the Frenchman’s controversial policy of nurturing young talent, his neck is always on the line. This approach has come with its own price over the past few seasons, resulting in an empty trophy cabinet. But last night’s performance suggested that Wenger’s young guns, who he has stuck by through in times of trouble, are starting to mature into a team that can compete at the highest level. However, it won’t be the first time that people have started to believe that his side are the finished article.
Porto however, were poor. Most Premier League sides would have given them a game and most probably would have beaten them. It’s staggering to think that the Portuguese champions are one of the top 32 sides in Europe.
Bendtner’s goals were no doubt vital, but in terms of a so-called “perfect” hat- trick this was the complete opposite.
Most Premier League strikers, hang on, even most Championship strikers could have scored the chances presented to Bendtner last night, thanks to the service the brilliant Andrey Arshavin was providing. For his first Bendtner did show quick reaction skills to slide the ball home following a mix up in the Porto back-line, his second was tap in of my “Nan could of scored that” proportions and the third a penalty. I don’t think too many Arsenal fans will be lining the streets of north London hailing the coming of age of their new superstar.
He has grabbed the headlines – but is the No.52 ready to become Arsenal’s numero uno?
Despite last night’s goals that question remains unanswered.
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