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Watch Out England! The Lord is Back!!!

Football is one of the most unpredictable sports in the world. It has its fair share of drama, intrigue, passion and many other qualities that make it one hell of a spectacle. Enter Nicklas Bendtner – a Danish star with the ego as big as the Grand Canyon, but with a footballing ability that doesn’t really match it. It’s not like he’s that bad. He has proven himself in the past when he bagged a couple as a young chap in Birmingham, but it never really worked for the Lord at Arsenal, maybe we weren’t worthy of the Lord at the club. It certainly had nothing to with his quotes that he could be one of the best strikers in the world.

While at Arsenal, he was fortunate to have two loan spells at Sunderland and Juventus. His spell with the Black Cats was rather fruitful, with the Dane featuring consistently for the outfit and he even scored eight goals for them. However, he endured a torrid time in Italy but he found a new lease of life at VFL Wolfsburg. Sadly, Bendtner had some discipline issues with the club and his three-year contract with the club was cut short with one year left to spare.

Bendtner has spent four months without a club and one wondered if he was going to be snapped up by one of the clubs’ in need of a Lord. With over 1 billion pounds splurged this summer, getting a Dane for free wouldn’t have been a bad investment at all. Think no more, because Nottingham Forest has snapped up Lord Bendtner on a free transfer and offered him a two-year deal.

“My main goal was to come back to England. What happened in Wolfsburg was a sad situation. I have made mistakes in the past, but I am looking to the future.”

“It is important to prove myself and get back to scoring goals. The coach has given me a great impression of the club and how he wants to do things.

“He cares a lot about football. He wants to play football, he is a nice man and I look forward to working with him.”

This will be considered as a fresh start for the Lord, and I was so confident that Nzuzu Lord, Chibuzor Amos, would be so happy. He even wrote an article about his favorite Lord. As fate would have it, Arsenal will play Nottingham Forest on September 20th, a chance for the Lord to showcase himself against his former employers. The club was gracious enough to wish him well in his new club

That’s enough on the Lord.

Sayonara

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Lord Bendtner to Feature at the Emirates Cup this Summer

Don’t we all love the Lord? The self-proclaimed best striker in the world?

After notching 171 appearances and scoring 47 goals for Arsenal, Lord Bendtner decided that he was too great to play for the Gunners so he packed his bags and worked with his agent to get him a new club. It did not take long for the Lord to find a new club, as VFL Wolfsburg came calling for his services. The Wolves manager, Dieter Hecking, had some great words to say about Lord Bendtner,

“We want to play a good role in all three competitions this season, and to do this we need players who already know what this kind of challenge is all about. Nicklas embodies precisely the kind of striker we were looking for. He fits the profile and is going to strengthen our squad.”

Hecking wanted the greatest striker that ever lived and he got it. Wolfsburg asked the Lord the number he’d prefer to wear bearing in mind that he had worn the numbers 26, 52 and finally 23 at Arsenal. The Lord in his infinite wisdom chose Number three. At least, he didn’t give any long story of how he chose the number, unlike when he switched from 26 to 52 at Arsenal,

“Before the season starts, I wanted to change my squad number from 26, which I’ve obviously had for a number of seasons. I chose to move to 52 because it’s a special number to me personally, and I hope that it brings me good luck for the new season. I appreciate that a good number of fans have bought their kits for 2009–10 already with names and numbers printed up so I’d like to personally cover the cost of replacing anyone’s shirt that has my previous number. It means a lot to see supporters wearing your name and number, and I want to ensure people aren’t inconvenienced by the change.”

Lord!!

Since the Lord moved to Wolfsburg, he has had to contend with the club’s leading goalscorer, Bas Dost, that has netted 19 goals with 16 of them coming in the Bundesliga. The Lord, on the other hand, has played only 19 games for Wolfsburg, scoring only three goals. A penalty against Kransnodar in the Europa League, a goal in the 3-2 defeat to Schalke and a late strike against Inter Milan in the Europa League. By Bendtner’s egotistical standards, that’s quite poor but he’s a Lord, he doesn’t give a shit.

I’ve learned that Arsenal has invited Villarreal, Olympique Lyonnais and VFL Wolfsburg for this summer’s Emirates Cup which ultimately means that the Lord will grace the Emirates once again in front of a crowd that once called him ‘Lord, Lord’. While his form at club level hasn’t been anything to write home about, his form on the international scene has caught the eye with the striker bagging a hat-trick against the United States in March, taking his tally to 29 goals in 66 games for Denmark.

I’m very sure that the Lord would be relishing the prospect of coming to the Emirates again and I expect him to get a great reception from the fans. In his last season with the Gunners, he only made 14 appearances but he scored two vital goals against Hull and Cardiff but succumbed to an ankle injury when he was just finding his feet again at the club.

The Emirates Cup would have a pedestrian feel to it because it’s a friendly tournament but seeing the Lord play on the pitch for new employers would be a pleasant sight for the fans. The tournament takes place in late July, so there’s a lot of football to be played between now and then.

Let’s just remember that the Lord Bendtner would feature in that tournament.

Sayonara.

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Arsenal Duo Sign New Deals and Bendtner Confirms Departure

Despite all the doom and gloom that crept into the world of Arsenal after a disappointing loss to Stoke, some off the pitch proceedings have brought smiles back to the faces of Arsenal fans worldwide.

Unless you’re living under a rock with no access to Internet, colored TV or any social media platform, you must have heard that the Gunners have handed new long term contracts to two influential players, Tomas Rosicky and Per Mertesacker.

Shortly after both players put pen to paper, the club released this statement,

We are delighted that Mertesacker and Rosicky have committed their futures to the Club. They are players of exceptional quality and experience, and have consistently proven themselves at the highest level. There is a great feeling of togetherness and belief in the group and this news will only help to strengthen this further.”

With the way things are going with the Bacary Sagna contract situation, the Arsenal hierarchy were mindful of avoiding another scenario of that nature, so it was paramount that they secured the long term futures of valuable assets such as this pair.

Tomas Rosicky has been at Arsenal longer than I can remember. Arsenal was smart enough to sign him just before the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the Gunners licked their lips as they watched Little Mozart decimate defenses in the soccer fiesta with his sleek style of play, wonderful passing range and one hell of a thunderbolt from his right foot.

It didn’t take him long to announce himself to the Emirates faithful with a surface to goal missile against Hamburg SV. Rosicky rose to prominence in the 2007/08 season when he was part of that midfield quartet that almost won the Premier League. A nasty knee injury robbed Arsenal off his services for the best part of 18 months and on his return to full fitness, he suffered a couple of niggling injuries here and there.

With his advancing years, Rosicky had a renaissance in the 2011/12 season where he replaced an Aaron Ramsey struggling for form, fitness and confidence. Rosicky played a similar role last season and he has endeared himself to the fans in more ways than one.

I and many other Arsenal fans out there (especially Austin Onono) will be happy to know that Rosicky will continue to grace the Emirates for a couple of more years. Some may say he’s 33, I know he’s ageless.

Per Mertesacker on the hand arrived as a “panic buy” following the 8-2 capitulation in the hands of Manchester United. The Big Friendly Giant is ridiculed for his lack of pace and agility but he made up for it with his intelligence, height, composure, coordination and ability to read the game superbly.

Alongside Laurent Koscielny, both players have forged a strong understanding and their joint attributes have made them impregnable and indispensable, even to the extent where the club captain can’t even command a first team berth.

Rosicky, 33, and Mertesacker, 29, have donned the captain’s armband for their nations on several occasions and even at club level from time to time. Having these leaders on the pitch for a long time would have a positive influence on the team, especially their advancing ages.

I wish both players all the best in their future endeavors with the club.

While Rosicky and Mertesacker would be basking in the euphoria of extending their futures with the club, the same cannot be said for Nicklas Bendtner that has suddenly found himself out of favor again.

As expected, the outspoken Dane was quick to voice his concerns,

I’m not going to stay at Arsenal – first team football is what I’m after. 

The plan is for me to move on. I’m ready for a new challenge. I know of the conditions.

To keep my spot I need to play regularly. My self-esteem and my confidence as a footballer has not changed, but there are many who think all I do is party. 

That I am completely indifferent to football, and it’s the wrong version of reality.

When I find my right club, I am sure that everything will be all right in itself, if there are no more injuries.”

The tale between Bendtner and Arsenal took a twist when Arsene Wenger offered him a chance to return to the team after he had declared that he wasn’t going to play for the club. With his Samurai looks, ponytail and the awkward looking beards, the fans saw a player that looked like a ‘new signing’ and he did pretty well against West Bromwich in the Capital One Cup.

After a couple of substitute appearances, Bendtner had a rear start against Hull City and scored a neat header from a Carl Jenkinson cross. Bendtner won a place in the hearts of the fans when he scored that vital late goal against Cardiff but injury hampered his chances of getting a consistent run of games.

Since his return to full fitness, he has seen his Giroud deputy role occupied by Yahaya Sanogo and after seeing the young lad get a rear start ahead of him in the FA Cup clash with Liverpool, Bendtner’s fears of losing his place we’re realised when Sanogo was favored ahead of him in the vital clash against Bayern Munich.

With the Gunners trailing against Stoke, Wenger had already thrown Mesut Ozil and the Ox into the fray, so his last throw of the dice was either Sanogo or Bendtner, and we all know who he brought on.

As my buddie, Bhydemi Brainz stated,

“Why give confidence to a player who would probably  end up in another club this simmer when you can give confidence to someone who has a future with us?”

The nail has been driven into the coffin of Bendtner’s career with Arsenal and as a free agent, a player of his ‘talents’ would be used elsewhere. He’s a decent striker that could do well in another club that gives him regular game time but that club would not be Arsenal.

Sayonara