Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner left Arsenal in June 2014 after nine seasons with the Gunners.
Nicklas joined Arsenal from Copenhagen’s youth setup in 2004, at the age of 16. Cutting his competitive teeth with a successful loan at Birmingham City, with whom he won promotion to the Premier League in 2006/07, he then graduated to the Gunners’ first-team squad and made a number of valuable contributions over the next few seasons.
Particularly memorable was a dramatic derby-day winner over Tottenham Hotspur in December 2007, just seconds after coming on as a substitute, while a Champions League hat-trick against Porto in March 2010 was another highlight. His most prolific season saw him score 15 goals for Arsenal in 2009/10.
Dominant in the air and equally adept on the ground, with a deceptive turn of pace and an ability to finish clinically, Nicklas was a full Denmark international with more than 50 caps and an impressive goalscoring record for his country. He found the net in both the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Championship.
The striker then went on loan to Sunderland, scoring eight goals in 30 appearances for the Wearside outfit, and Juventus, where injuries limited his participation, before starting the 2013/14 season as the second top goalscorer in the Gunners’ first-team squad, closing in on a half century of goals for the club.
Nicklas revealed in March 2014 that he would leave at the end of the season and signed a three-year contract with Bundesliga club Wolfsburg.
