Bendtner Releases Arsenal Statement

By Nick Lander

Nicklas Bendtner has released a statement on his failure to secure a transfer away from the club over the summer. The Dane was understood to be very close to a move to Crystal Palace yesterday, but the club's failure to bring in an alternative meant that the move did not get sanctioned. You can read all the details of yesterday here.

His statement confirms that Arsenal had instructed him to find a new club, but "reserved their right to not sanction any deal" as they had not managed to bring in a replacement. Last week Arsene Wenger told Arsenal.com "If [Bendtner] does not leave and prepares well, and is fit, really fit, then I will use him.

"He is not training [with the first team] at the moment because he is coming back from injury and is not ready to integrate into the training sessions." 

Having been somewhat frozen out of the club over the past couple of seasons, with loan spells at Sunderland and Juventus, Bendtner's recent history has also been marred by some off the field problems. His refusal to lower his wage demands also scuppered moves much earlier in the summer to the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt, Malaga and Hull.

Whilst being "disappointed" not to leave, the striker describes Arsenal as "a fantastic environment for any professional to apply their trade." Before going on to say: "I still feel very strongly about Arsenal Football Club and following positive talks with the Manager, I am looking forward to working hard to regain full fitness and doing my very best to help to the team and the Manager fulfil our objectives and ambitions this season."

Bendtner concluded his statement by saying: "I will give everything I have to contribute to what I believe will be a successful season for the club." You can read his full statement here.

Whilst Bendtner is far from the ideal player to have as back up to Olivier Giroud, he is a reasonably talented striker, who will score goals. The problem lies with his mentality, believing he is far better than he is. For me his Arsenal career is summed up nicely by a 4 day spell back in 2009/10 when Bendtner missed a hat-full of chances on the Saturday against Burnley, before then bagging a hat-trick on the Tuesday against Porto in the Champions League. 

If he finds some consistency  he may yet end up having an important impact on Arsenal's season. Assuming he is selected ahead of Park Chu-Young that is...

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Deadline Day - LIVE BLOG

By Nick Lander

This page needs manually refreshing.

23:50 - Well, that's the live blog over for this window. Thank you for joining in the ride through an historic day for Arsenal as the club transfer record was smashed by a colossal £27m with Mesut Özil's arrival from Real Madrid. Arsenal have now paid the 2nd most for a player (within the Premier League), after Chelsea's £50m for Fernando Torres. The club also brought in goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano from Palermo.

The rest of the season awaits and with a midfield of that quality, who knows what it will bring!

23:32 - Özil also turned down PSG. The French champions made a larger offer than the Gunners, but the Wenger effect was a bigger pull and brought the German international to the Emirates.

23:25 - Sounds like United managed to sneak Fellaini through and possibly Coentrao too...

23:19 - Harry Redknapp is giving his first interview from the window of a car this deadline day. Likely to say something about having tried to sign Özil any minute...

23:00 - THE TRANSFER WINDOW IS NOW SHUT

Have there been any late deals snuck through under the radar? Did Manchester United manage to complete the signing of Marouane Fellaini?

22:57 - Jack Wilshere bills Özil as the "signing of the summer," tweeting: "Signing of the summer! Easily! Fantastic player, plays the 'Arsenal way'. Welcome @MesutOzil1088 absolutely buzzing!

22:53 - Özil takes the number 11 shirt.

22:51 - Many Arsenal players have Facebooked or Tweeted their welcome to Özil already, Santi Cazorla said: "Welcome @MesutOzil1088 such an amazing player"

22:47 - That will almost certainly be the end of Arsenal's transfer dealings for the summer, unless we've a massive surprise on the way in the next 13 minutes.

Are we happy with the summer then?

22:45 - Mesut Özil's message to Real Madrid fans from his official Facebook page: "Dear fans of Real Madrid,

"Thank you very much for three wonderful years with all of you. My time at Real Madrid was unique and special for me. Sometimes things develop differently, than I would have expected them to a few days ago. Although I’m leaving Real Madrid I wish you and the team the very best for the future.

"Now I’m looking forward to my new club: THE GUNNERS!"

22:34 - Özil quotes from Arsenal.com "I am thrilled to be joining a club of the stature of Arsenal and am looking forward to playing in the Premier League. It will be great for my own personal development as a player and I am particularly looking forward to working with Arsène Wenger.

“From our negotiations it is clear the Club has huge ambition and I look forward to being part of an exciting future.”

22:32 - Everton now apparently in pole position for Lukaku... (SkySports)

22:26 - A little bit more on Demba Ba too... He apparently refused to move anywhere other than Arsenal, which Jose Mourinho refused to allow. That's forced him to allow Romelu Lukaku to move to West Brom on loan.

22:23 - He's spoken. There's a new German in the squad.

22:20 - David Ornstein now saying that Özil will be announced inside the next half an hour.

22:15 - John Cross says that Özil is definitely done and dusted, just not yet been announced.

22:00 - JUST ONE MORE HOUR NOW

21:48 - The Daily Express are reporting that Arsenal have been in touch with PSG about Javier Pastore. Slight possibility that he would be allowed to leave if they manage to bring Mata in, but that doesn't sound particularly likely.

21:40 - Some suggestion that Arsenal have had an enquiry over Javier Mascherano knocked back by Barcelona, must say I think that's an unlikely sounding move.

20:44 - As it stands Nicklas Bendtner will stay at Arsenal as back up to Giroud, that is unless Wenger manages to secure an alternative to Ba before 23:00 tonight.

20:28 - David Ornstein (BBC Sport) and John Cross (Daily Mirror) both reporting that Demba Ba to Arsenal is dead. Arsenal seen as too much of rival to loan to.

Can't say I'm too disappointed, but Arsenal now need to move fast for alternative targets, another striker is a must. No real depth there were Giroud to get injured.

See 20:10 for who I'd like...

20:13 - BBC Sport reporting that Özil's signing is "is being processed. Essentially done and dusted."

20:10 - Spurs apparently not interested in Ba.

I still think we should be aiming higher, either Torres or Rooney.

19:46 - Developments on the Demba Ba front. SkySports reporting that Chelsea have agreed terms with an unnamed Premier League club for his loan. They did however say that the club is not Arsenal or Tottenham, who have both made offers.

19:26 - Arsenal.com have Wenger saying that: “Viviano is a player that we have rated for some time and we are very pleased to have signed him on loan. He’s experienced and has proved himself at a high level, and provides us with excellent cover to our existing goalkeepers.”

19:12 - Emiliano Viviano has been officially annouced by Arsenal now though...

19:05 - Still no announcement on Özil, but Pitch Invasion TV now reporting that Arsenal have returned to Manchester United with a new offer for Wayne Rooney.

18:25 - So, are you happy with another keeper being brought in? Tweet me, @nlander94, message the N5 Blog on Facbook and use the comments below. And of course don't forget to use #N5BlogLive when you're tweeting!

18:22 - Palermo have confirmed that Emiliano Viviano has joined Arsenal on loan for the season.

The Gunners have paid a £1m loan fee and have the option to buy for £5m at the end of the season.

18:01 - Also when I said official conformation of Özil in the next half hour an hour and a half ago, I lied.

18:00 - FIVE HOURS OF THE TRANSFER WINDOW REMAINIG

16:48 - It does sound like Juan Mata is on his way out of Chelsea, but not going to Arsenal. BBC Sport reporting that he's in talks with PSG.

16:31 - Still waiting on official conformation on , but in the meantime, his Twitter account (@MesutOzil1088) has more followers than Arsenal's...

Anyone would think there wasn't very much happening...

16:18 - Arsenal are expected to announce Mesut Özil's signature inside the next half hour or so.

16:14 - Less than seven hours to go and Twitter says that the Danish press have said Bendtner's on the verge of that move to Palace.

15:17 - All quiet at the moment. Suspect things may get a bit busier this evening.

To recap, Demba Ba on loan is a distinct possibility, but Chelsea are demanding a £3m loan fee. Seems high, not only that, Chelsea aren't keen on letting him go to a direct rival and there's a fair bit of competition for him, from the likes of Napoli, Valencia and Newcastle.

Mesut Özil and Emiliano Viviano both seem to be on the verge of being announced. Özil coming for €50m and Viviano initially coming in on a season-long loan.

14:45 - Sounds like Nicklas Bendtner may indeed be on his way. Apparently spotted at Crystal Palace's training ground.

Be slightly surprising if that one comes off and I'm sure selling him elsewhere in the Premier League may well come back to haunt us.

14:11 - The size of the loan fee for Ba is making the deal sound less and less attractive...

13:51 - SkySports now running the Ba story. You're after the wrong striker Arsenal, THE WRONG ONE!!

13:15 - Must say, I cannot see why Chelsea would go through with a loan deal for Demba Ba. Were anything possible, surely that would have to be a permanent deal.

Still some mutterings about Angel Di Maria too. If we're in for a winger though, I think I'd prefer Barcelona's Cristian Tello.

13:11 - Possible that there will also be exits today. Club still trying to offload Park Chu-Young and Nicklas Bendtner. Unlikely, but you never know.

12:50 - Sounds like Özil's medical may well be done... Will absolutely smash Arsenal's transfer record. Forced out of Madrid, good signing for the Gunners.

12:46 - There are now a few mumblings appearing on the blogosphere and Twitter about Fernando Torres to Arsenal... Definitely to be taken with a pinch of salt, but they apparently originate from the print edition of La Marca. Don't know if anyone can confirm?

But get involved anyway!! Tweet me, @nlander94, message the N5 Blog on Facbook and use the comments below. And of course don't forget to use #N5BlogLive when you're tweeting!

12:34 - Plenty of chants of "Where's your monkey gone?" at the Emirates yesterday, and Gareth Bale has now been presented as a Real Madrid player.

Elsewhere, Liverpool have been busy, signing Mamadou Sahko, Victor Moses (loan) and Tiago Ilori.

12:23 - Being reported now that Özil has agreed a £115,00 per week contract. Fee of £42.4m.

Guillem Balague says on SkySports that it was all agreed on Friday.

12:00 - JUST ELEVEN HOURS LEFT

11:55 - The Mirror's John Cross is reporting that Arsenal have persuaded Özil to join. Likely ends any interest in Newcastle's Cabaye, much to their relief.

It does sound then, like Viviano and Özil will soon be announced.

11:53 - FranceFootball are reporting that Arsenal have made a move for Demba Ba.

I still maintain that Torres would be a far better buy. We can afford him, why not do for it?!

11:47 - One player Arsenal definitely won't be signing is Josuha Guilavogui he's joined Athletico Madrid. He had been linked with a move to N5 over the last couple of weeks.

11:20 - All quiet on the transfer front really. SkySports saying that Arsenal are 'confident' on Özil, but that any deal will be signed in Germany, where the 24-year-old is with the national team.

11:00 - TWELVE HOURS OF THE TRANSFER WINDOW REMAIN

10:54 - Away from transfers for a moment, Olivier Giroud won the Arsenal.com man of the match for yesterday. Can't argue with that. Possibly his best performance in an Arsenal shirt?

10:46 - Worth pointing out also, you will need to manually refresh this page. Sadly I can't set this up to auto-refresh, so make sure you do to keep up with what's going on!

Just as importantly, get involved! Tweet me - @nlander94, use the hash-tag #N5BlogLive, comment on the Facebook page wall or in the comments section below.

10:41 - BBC Sport are reporting that Manchester United are definitely not in for Özil. If he will leave Madrid, it seems the Gunners have a pretty free run to sign him. United's focus is on raiding Everton for Marouane Fellaini.

10:32 - So far of course, Arsenal have only brought in Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Flamini on free transfers.

What do you think of my Torres idea and who do you want to see come in? Get involved by tweeting me(@nlander94), using the hash-tag #N5BlogLive, commenting on the Facebook page wall or through the comments below. 

10:17 - Also possible that Arsene Wenger is interested in bringing in some of Angel Di Maria, Julian Draxler, Abel Hernandez, Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye.

If Arsenal are going in for a Chelsea striker though, I'd much prefer Fernando Torres. Perhaps a deal could be done around the £20m mark...

10:09 - As well as Özil the Gunners are widely expected to complete a season-long loan deal for Palermo goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano, with a medical said to be scheduled for this morning.

10:03 - All the speculation last night in the wake of the North London Derby was about Mesut Özil joining from Real Madrid. Arsenal are believed to have had a £42.5m bid accepted, but is the player keen on leaving Los Blancos? That remains to be seen, with La Marca reporting this morning that the move was stalling...

There have also been reports of rival interest from Manchester United and free-spending PSG.

09:58 - Welcome to the first ever Live N5 Blog. I'm going to be taking you all the way through deadline day, complete with all the rumours and done deals coming out of the club and the best from elsewhere.

Get involved by tweeting me, @nlander94, by commenting on the Facebook page wall and through the comments below.

After a brilliant victory yesterday in the NLD, can Arsenal make it two memorable days in a row? It's time to sit back, relax and enjoy the deadline day ride!!