Monday 27 July 2015 06:26, UK
Nicklas Bendtner couldn't find a goal on his return to Arsenal with Wolfsburg for this summer's Emirates Cup, but he'll need to find something fast if he's to come close to fulfilling his potential, writes Adam Bate.
"He has the talent. He's honest and he knows that he made some mistakes. I hope that now he can be successful in the second part of his career." – Arsene Wenger, Emirates Cup 2015
There was plenty of goodwill towards Wolfsburg's Nicklas Bendtner on his return to the Emirates this weekend. It was evident in the ripple of applause that went around the ground as he warmed up during the opening game of the tournament against Villarreal on Saturday.
Indeed, when he made his entrance in that game in the 60th minute - cometh the hour, cometh the man - there were roars, cheers, applause and whistles... followed by murmurs of laughter. Bendtner has developed a peculiar relationship with these Arsenal fans.
There was the lone voice of a steward behind the press box chanting 'Super Nic' longer than was comfortable. And then there's that nickname: Lord Bendtner. "Am I being ridiculed?" asked the man himself when quizzed in a recent German magazine interview. "Is it serious?"
Bendtner's self-belief lends itself to lampooning and tales of his confident attitude have become, in his own words, something of "a phenomenon of the youth", akin to the Chuck Norris 'facts' that pervade the internet.
But wasted talent is unlikely to be a laughing matter for Wenger, who only this weekend singled out Abou Diaby's injury-hit career as perhaps the biggest regret of his Arsenal tenure. Unlike Diaby, whose problems have been foisted upon him, Bendtner's issues are self-inflicted.
Twelve months into a three-year deal at Wolfsburg, Bendtner's first season was a struggle - scoring only one Bundesliga goal in an otherwise successful season for his side. He netted more than that for Denmark and even national team boss Morten Olsen was unimpressed.
The reasons for his difficulties are familiar. In April, in an incident reminiscent of the time Sunderland dropped him for a game against Manchester United, he was axed from the squad for a game against Schalke after turning up an hour late for the final training session.
It hints at a lack of professionalism that appears to have impacted upon his fitness. This summer, Wolfsburg have felt compelled to put him on an individual training regime because, according to coach Dieter Hecking, he "clearly lags behind" his team-mates.
"The demands on a footballer in Germany are different to in England or in Denmark," Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs told Bild. "If someone wants to play for us, then they can follow us. Anyone who doesn't want to and doesn't get in line has no place at this club."
Perhaps it's not all Bendtner's fault. Outward displays of confidence can hint at underlying insecurities and this is a player rarely afforded an important status within a team. He can hardly have been inspired by Hecking's words upon his arrival in Wolfsburg.
"We dared to touch the top shelf of players," said Hecking. "It's empty now though, so we need to look a bit further down." It echoed Juventus chief Giuseppe Marotta's admission that "clearly he isn't the top player we wanted" when moving on loan to Turin in 2012.
With Max Kruse joining Bas Dost at Wolfsburg this summer, Bendtner's task is unlikely to get any easier. Indeed, it's tempting to think that a long mooted return home to Copenhagen, where his ego could be sated as a sort of low-grade Zlatan Ibrahimovic, would suit him well.
But at 27, that would surely be an admission of defeat for a player who only last year Wenger described as "a great striker" if - and it's a big if - he is focused on his football. The potential is still there but time is running out.
"Personally I was very disappointed with my last season," Bendtner told Bild this summer. "The next one is very important. I'm giving everything to convince the coach that I should play every game and that he can rely on me."
It'll need actions not words before Bendtner convinces anyone and despite getting 79 minutes against his old club on Sunday, the man who scored Arsenal's winner in their first-ever Emirates Cup game back in 2007 was unable to add to his tally in Wolfsburg green.
Instead, there was just the roar that greeted his failed attempt to karate kick the ball into the net from a right-wing cross and the loud but brief ovation upon his substitution. And Bendtner is still left wondering to himself whether it's all laced with regret or irony.
