Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendter bagged himself a hat-trick on Champions League duty on Tuesday night. The Gunners put in an outstanding display and saw off Portuguese side Porto 5-0 to ensure qualification to the next round after a 2-1 defeat in the first leg in Portugal. Bendtner’s goals came courtesy of two tap-ins and a penalty – granted, they may not have been the most attractive of finishes but he was in the right place at the right time and that is all you can ask of a striker.
However, at the weekend the Danish forward missed a ridiculous amount of chances against relegation threatened Burnley. Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners that day but they could have scored twice as many goals had Bendtner had his shooting boots on. Again, he was in the right places but his finishing was abysmal, so much so that when he was substituted late on all he could do was shrug his shoulders and offer a smile, while the Arsenal fans had to take amusement from his missed chances. It was fortunate for Bendtner his side secured all three points despite his wastefulness, and a hat-trick against Porto will go someway to making amends.
In terms of his overall play I actually think Bendtner is a very impressive striker. His link-up play is first-rate and the likes of Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri and Andrey Arshavin certainly benefit when Bendtner is on song and can play them in on the wing. He gets himself in decent positions to poach goals and finish off Arsenal’s slick moves – all he needs to work on is his strike rate.
Bendtner will almost certainly travel with Denmark to the World Cup in South Africa. At international level he actually has a very good strike rate, with a ratio of around a goal every three games – a much better record than he has at club level. The Arsenal striker is a man I will be keeping an eye on when the tournament comes around, at 22 it is a great opportunity to make a name for himself on the international stage and a decent World Cup could be just the confidence boost he needs.
If he could find the goals to go with his all round play he could well be the striker Arsenal have been missing. With Robin van Persie still on the sidelines he has perhaps seen more action this season than his performances have merited and Arsenal were linked with a number of strikers in the January transfer window. Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal and you would imagine if Bendter and the Moroccan are in the same team there will only be place for one of them in the starting eleven as they are fairly similar. If Bendter can find the net on a more consistent basis he may force boss Arsene Wenger to rethink his transfer plans in the summer. However, if he continues to struggle in front of goal in the league this could be his last campaign at the Emirates Stadium as he has had more chances than most to impress Wenger.
Written by Carl Hector, a sports writer who blogs about Cheltenham tips 2010, the Premier League and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
