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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Bendtner Seals Juventus Loan

 

By Nick Lander

 

Outcast striker Nicklas Bendtner has joined reigning Serie A champions Juventus on a season long loan.

 

The Turin club have has a nightmare summer with manager Antonio Conte handed a 10 month ban which is understood to be a factor in them missing out on their top transfer targets of the summer in Robin van Persie and Luis Suarez. They had hoped to sign one or both early in the transfer window, but things did not work out and Juve have now resorted to bringing in Bendtner for the season with a view to making the transfer permanent for £5m next summer.

 

It is the second August in a row that Arsenal have been forced to accept a loan deal for Bendtner, having been eager to get rid of him permanently. Last summer, he ended up in the North East with Sunderland, where he ended up joint top scorer at the club, but did not earn - nor want - a permanent transfer. There has been interest throughout the summer, and the Dane is understood to have snubbed at least three different permanent moves, much to the Gunners' frustration, and has now linked up with the Italian club.

In his post-signing interview with Juventus' in-house media, he describes his new club as "the biggest club in Italy" and says that he hopes to "show everything on the pitch without trying to talk too much about it." He also said that he's "humble" to be at the club. Quotes that suggest a move away from his more arrogant stance that has wound up arsenal fans so much over the last few years, and also hints that he aims to keep out of the limelight after a number of recent controversies over his off-pitch behaviour.
 

He tweeted that he is "very proud and can't wait to wear the stripes. I want to fulfil my potential here and show the fans my absolute best as that is yet to come. I am sure I will." Arsenal will be hoping for the same, and that he will convince Juventus to make his transfer permanent next July, rather than having to go through the same charade again next year.

 

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Whilst Arsenal are running out of time to make any transfers, you have plenty left to join the N5 Blog's fantasy football league on the Premier League website, using league code 13667-212189

Arsenal Reject van Persie Bids

By Nick Lander

Arsenal are believed to have received and rejected three bids for Robin van Persie this morning. Understood to be from Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus, none of the bids topped £15m, way below the Gunners' £20m asking price.

Van Persie announced that he would not sign an Arsenal contract extension at the beginning of July, and there has been a flurry of speculation since. The striker joined Arsenal for just £2.75m back in 2004 from Feyenoord. With 48 goals in his last 55 Premier League games, van Persie is on form - it took him 139 games to score his first 48 Premiership goals - and the Gunners are unwilling to even enter formal talks with any bidding party until they receive an offer of at least £20m.

Having scored a goal every 111 minutes he was on the pitch in 2011/12 with a league high 58% of his shots on target, it is unsurprising the amount of interest there is in Arsenal's captain. In addition to the three clubs who have already bid, AC Milan are expected to get involved at some stage, and both Real Madrid and Barcelona are understood to have an interest in signing the Dutchman.

Following these bids, van Persie is now set to be left behind from Arsenal's forthcoming Asia tour, in order to work on his fitness (finalise a move elsewhere). If their valuation of their player is not met, Arsenal are believed to be prepared to hold him to the final year of his contract and lose him for nothing next summer.

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Van Persie Rejects Arsenal - including club response

By Nick Lander

Robin van Persie has today confirmed that he will not be extending his stay at Arsenal, in a statement released through his official website.

Arsenal's Captain says that he has made his decision due to differing visions between himself and Arsene Wenger over how the club should move forward. He had a meeting with Wenger and Ivan Gazidis just before Euro 2012, based on which "it has again become clear to [him] that [they], in many aspects, disagree on the way Arsenal should move forward."

Van Persie has confirmed that he will have further meetings with Gazidis in the near future, but he will not sign a new deal, having "thought long and hard about it." The striker also says that he has not discussed a contract with the club "financial terms or a contract have not been discussed" as those are something which are "not [his] priority at all." His full statement is available here.

Arsenal could hold van Persie to his contract, but are likely then to miss out on receiving a transfer fee for the striker, although success in 2012/13 could convince him to extend his stay. Arsenal's other option is to sell him this summer. Manchester City are definitely interested and are believed to be considering a £20m, £200k per week offer. Abroad, Italian side Juventus have reportedly already tabled a miserly offer of £8m. It has also been suggested that Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are interested too.

The club has responded to their Captain's statement, saying that they "are confident that he will fulfil his commitments to the Club." They go on to say that they are preparing for next season with "Arsenal's best interests in mind." A statement which does not really say anything, and which suggests that the Gunners' talismanic captain may be sold for the right price. The full statement can be found here.

For Arsenal fans, it will be a very bitter pill to swallow if van Persie opts to follow in the footsteps of Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri and join Premier League champions City, and if he does he is unlikely to be remembered with much fondness. The wounds caused by Samir Nasri's protracted transfer there last summer are still very fresh.

If he decides to move abroad, van Persie will be remembered more fondly, but a move to Serie A is likely to be seen as a step down, and neither Barcelona or Real Madrid have shown firm interest as yet. Were RVP to move to Catalonia, it would have to be questioned whether he could get into the Barcelona team on a regular basis - although the same was asked of Fabregas last summer and he has done alright.

What actually happens remains to be seen, but any move is unlikely to be made in the next couple of weeks, with van Persie, Wenger and Gazidis all still believed to be on holiday. After the debacle of last summer, Arsenal fans will be hoping that an outcome (whichever way it goes) is reached sooner, rather than later, enabling the club to get on with preparations for the new season without any uncertainty.

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