Should Arsenal try to sign this mystery star? Hold on, they already own him…
Sounds tempting when you describe him like that doesn’t he? Arsenal need to get their best salesmen handy next month.
The Gunners have a mission this January as well as signing the players they feel they need to; They need to shift some deadwood.
The club have been criticised this week for their high wage bill, which totals £1 million more than rivals Spurs.
Now if the Gunners could shift Johan Djourou, Sebastien Squillaci, Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner in January, they will be doing themselves a real favour.
Chamakh appears destined to head back to Bordeaux, Djourou will have offers – Roma were interested in the summer, and Squillaci is probably a lost cause, his contract expires in the summer and he appears more than content to sit on the sidelines and collect his wages.
So the player Arsenal really need to try and actively sell is Nicklas Bendtner.
He is currently on loan at Juventus, but he is yet to score a goal for the Turin side, who will be looking for a new striker to sign on a permanent basis in January.
Reports have suggested Bendtner’s loan deal will be terminated, for the good of all parties, which will give the Gunners an opportunity to try to sell him.
Just the fact he has been at Juventus will likely drive up his potential value; credit by association. Even if he has not succeeded there, it isn’t like he has been a regular starter.
Having been at Juventus makes him far more marketable than his last loan, where Arsenal were trying to sell a forward who performed averagely at Sunderland.
He has at least been continuing his Denmark form this season, scoring in recent internationals, and his record of 22 goals in 55 games is highly creditable for such a maligned striker.
You feel that 24-year-old Bendtner can succeed if he can find the right club, a team where he can express himself and play regularly. One step back to take two forward he should think of it as.
If he can do that, everybody will be a winner. Right now, Arsenal, Juventus, and Bendtner are not helping each other.
It’s time for the Dane to come back to London in the New Year, collect the rest of his belongings, and find a new home, while removing his wages from Arsenal’s bill.
Will Arsenal find anyone to sign Bendtner permanently? Which is the perfect club for him?
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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