Nicklas Bendtner regrets ‘best in the world’ quotes ahead of Arsenal reunion
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Published 20/09/2016 at 13:03 GMT
Nottingham Forest striker Nicklas Bendtner admits he has been “haunted” by quotes made during his time at Arsenal.
Nicklas Bendtner
Image credit: Reuters
Bendtner claimed he was one of the best strikes in the world while at the Gunners in 2010.
If you ask me if I am one of the best strikers in the world, I say yes because I believe it. When I see that other strikers score a lot of goals, I realise I need to score those goals. But I think everything else in my game is right. Even if I believe I can still improve. But the goals are the last thing I need to add and when I do I believe I will be the player I want to be. One of the best.
The Dane, who recently joined Forest on a free transfer, will face his old club tonight in the EFL Cup.
“I pictured my career going in a different way, but it didn’t,” Bendtner told the Daily Mirror.
“So I’m going to make the best out of the rest of my career and do the best I can. There are many goals I have set myself over the years. Many things I have said and been killed for.”
The 28-year-old was loaned to Birmingham City, Sunderland and Juventus before joining Wolfsburg on a permanent deal, though he netted just three times over two seasons for the German club.
And while Bendtner has failed to reach his own lofty ambitions, the striker does not regret setting himself a high target.
“I actually don’t regret saying I want to be the best striker in the world, because that’s what everyone wants. It’s just that no one wants to say it,” Bendtner added.
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Nicklas Bendtner during his Arsenal days
Image credit: PA Photos
“It has haunted me. I was very young and I might have said it too early, before I’d proved I was in that category – or could get in that category.”
OUR VIEW
It’s so easy to berate players who come out with these statements, and Bendtner has made himself an easy target with outlandish statements and poor performances to boot.
It came out three years ago that Hatem Ben Arfa revealed he could win the Ballon d’Or one day, while still at Newcastle, and you have to admire these players for their ambition, even if it is somewhat delusional.
After all, if you’re a youngster who is not aiming to improve year on year, then you are in the game for the wrong reasons.
Bendtner is right that most players do not openly admit this dream, but after seeing the social media frenzy that has followed 'Lord' Bendtner, he has become a case-in-point that will deter the next generation from ever making such comments – unless you’re the next Bendtner.
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