With Arsenal set to face Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup this Tuesday, the fixture could see a return for ex-Arsenal striker, and social media legend, Nicklas Bendtner.
Nottingham Forest’s Nicklas Bendtner
Nicklas Bendtner is yet to score for his new club, but will be hoping to add his name to the growing list of ex-Arsenal players that have come back to haunt the North-London club.
Nicolas Anelka (Bolton 3-1 Arsenal, 25th November 2006)
After a number of short stints with the likes of Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain, Liverpool and Manchester City, Nicolas Anelka returned to English football with Bolton Wanderers following a season in Turkey with Fenerbahçe.
Bolton had become synonymous with the brand of football most damaging to the Arsenal defence, and under Sam Allardyce, had forged a fantastic record against the Gunners. The stage was set when Anelka returned to face one of his many former clubs, and the Frenchman was hardly camera shy as he struck a fantastic curling effort past Jens Lehmann on the brink of half-time.
Anelka would go on to score a second in the 76th minute, consigning Arsenal to a 3-1 defeat.
David Bentley (Tottenham Hotspur 4-4 Arsenal, 29th October 2008)
If it isn’t bad enough to concede to a player you once cheered, David Bentley added to the fans misery as he scored a wonderful long-range effort to give arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, a 13th minute lead. The audacious effort that caught Manuel Almunia napping, would be the first of a flurry of goals which saw the North-London rivals draw 4-4.
Emmanuel Adebayor (Manchester City 4-2 Arsenal, 12th September 2009)
After completing an acrimonious £25.5 million move to Manchester City in the summer, Emmanuel Adebayor faced his old club in a fixture that would leave a sour taste in the mouths of disgruntled Arsenal fans.
After receiving continued abuse from the away fans, Adebayor enraged the Gunners further as he appeared to leave his boot in on Arsenal top goal-scorer, Robin Van Persie.
With the away section of the crowd already at boiling point, Adebayor created chaotic scenes when he headed home past Manuel Almunia in the 80th minute, before sprinting the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of his former fans. Adebayor received a booking for his actions, but had the last laugh as Shaun Wright-Phillips put the game beyond doubt four minutes later.
Emmanuel Adebayor – Manchester City celebrates after scoring his teams third goal in front of Arsenal fans
Robin Van Persie (Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal, 3rd November 2012)
Three years after Adebayor appeared to stamp on his head, Robin Van Persie made a £24 million move to Manchester, “listening to the little boy within” and deciding that the Arsenal board didn’t match his ambition for trophies. Van Persie was an instant success for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and would go one better than Adebayor, scoring against his former club on three separate occasions.
The first, and perhaps most significant, would come in his first encounter with his previous employers, silencing the hostile Arsenal faithful in just three minutes . It was Van Persie’s tenth goal of the season and a painful reminder of what Arsenal had given up.
Manchester United would go on to win the game, and ultimately, the Premier League title, providing Van Persie with the piece of silverware he had left Arsenal to win.
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