Nicklas Bendtner

On 23 October, he scored his debut UEFA Champions League goal in the 89th minute against Slavia Prague, finishing off a back-heeled pass from Emmanuel Eboué to complete a 7–0 win and equal the record Champions League victory.

Nicklas Bendtner (born 16 January 1988) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a forward.

His preferred position was centre-forward, but he has also played on the right side of attack, and occasionally on the left.

A large, tall, and physically strong player, he was known for his ability in the air and possessed a powerful header.

As a child, he played football for Tårnby Boldklub before joining F.C. Copenhagen's feeder club Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB) in 1998.

He scored four goals in six Danish national youth team matches, before joining English club Arsenal in August 2004.

Bendtner formed a prolific strike partnership in the Arsenal reserves with Arturo Lupoli.

Having progressed through the youth ranks at Tårnby Boldklub, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub and Arsenal, Bendtner signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in 2005.

He made his debut in October 2005 in the League Cup against Sunderland.

His first-team debut for Arsenal came on 25 October 2005 in a League Cup match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, as a late substitute for Quincy Owusu-Abeyie.

For the 2006–07 season, Bendtner was loaned out to Championship club Birmingham City, where he made 48 appearances.

He made his senior international debut as an 18-year-old, on 16 August 2006 in a friendly match against Poland, and scored his first international goal in that match.

Bendtner was loaned to Championship team Birmingham City in August 2006 to gain first team experience; the loan initially ran until January 2007.

He made his debut for Birmingham as a substitute for Stephen Clemence against Colchester United on 5 August.

He played the final half-hour and scored the winning goal.

The loan at Birmingham was extended until the end of the 2006–07 season.

He finished with eleven league goals as Birmingham were promoted to the Premier League as Championship runners-up.

Bendtner signed a new five-year contract with Arsenal in May 2007, and returned to the club for the 2007–08 Premier League season.

After impressing at Birmingham, the teenage striker was presented with opportunities to seek first-team football elsewhere, with reports that Olympique Lyonnais and Milan wanted the promising teenager, but he stayed on in order to earn his place in the starting eleven.

Bendtner scored his first goal at the Emirates Stadium against Paris Saint-Germain in the inaugural Emirates Cup pre-season tournament; he assisted another for Mathieu Flamini and missed a late penalty.

He made his Premier League debut as a substitute against Fulham on 12 August 2007.

His first competitive strike for the Gunners was the match-winning goal in a 2–0 League Cup match against Newcastle United on 25 September 2007.

Bendtner's first Premier League goal came on 22 December 2007 in a 2–1 Arsenal victory in the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium.

He headed the winning goal from a Cesc Fàbregas corner just 1.8 seconds (official time) after coming on as a substitute for Eboué, breaking the previous record.

His first Premier League start came a week later at Everton; he was sent off for two bookable offences.

After serving his suspension, he scored his first FA Cup goal against Burnley on 6 January 2008 as Arsenal won 2–0.

During the season, manager Arsène Wenger tried to partner Bendtner with Emmanuel Adebayor whenever Robin van Persie was rested.

Bendtner and Adebayor, however, did not get along well.

It became apparent during the 2008 League Cup semi-final second leg away at Tottenham when the pair had a heated on-pitch altercation with the scoreline at 4–1 to Tottenham and referee Howard Webb, captain William Gallas, and other teammates had to intervene and separate the two.

Adebayor later apologized on Arsenal's website and the Football Association declined to take any formal action against either.

Bendtner also scored a last minute equaliser against Aston Villa to keep Arsenal top of the table.

Following his return to Arsenal, he became a regular first team player, but began to slip out of favour during the 2010–11 season.

Bendtner was a member of Denmark's 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012 squads, and helped them qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Bendtner was born in Copenhagen.

As a result, he moved on loan to Premier League club Sunderland for the majority of the 2011–12 season, where he made 30 appearances.

He then spent the entire 2012–13 season on loan to Serie A club Juventus, where he made 10 appearances but failed to score.

Bendtner was released by Arsenal in 2014.

He subsequently joined VfL Wolfsburg on a free transfer, for whom he scored the winning goal in the 2015 DFL-Supercup.

Released in 2016, he returned to England, where he spent the first half of the 2016–17 season with Nottingham Forest of the Championship, and in March 2017 he signed for Rosenborg.

Bendtner has played internationally for Denmark at under-16, under-17, under-19, under-21 and senior levels.