(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

It’s 4.30 pm on a Saturday afternoon at the Emirates, the pitch is cloaked in sunlight and Arsenal are up 2-0 against Manchester City. The opposition have barely threatened in the second half and Arsenal continue to produce wave after wave of attacking football that is easier on the eye than a house party at the playboy mansion.

The fourth official is forced into action. It’s time for Emmanuel Adebayor to leave the pitch after scoring twice on his comeback from injury. As he runs off of the pitch he is given a rapturous applause from the Arsenal faithful as the team are coasting towards a result that will see them move six points ahead of an Aston Villa team that once upon a time seemed out of sight.

What could possibly ruin this afternoon?

On comes his replacement and the answer is clear. The man in question is Nicklas Bentdner of course, but he hasn’t ruined this afternoon, the groans of discontent and the needless abuse from fellow supporters—that’s what ruins the afternoon.

The lanky Dane seems to be getting a raw deal from the Arsenal following and it seems like he is currently edging ahead of Emmanuel Eboue in a two horse race to claim the title of the fans least favourite player award.

Sitting in the stands you hear a variation of opinions on the sport that we all love. On Saturday a man in front of me claimed that “Theo Walcott is having a blinder and causing so many problems down the right hand side” whereas a man behind me often stated that the same player was “a waste of space” and that “he hasn’t made a decent decision all day”. A woman next to me claimed that these two men were both right and wrong and that “he had caused problems, but his decision making at times has been terrible”—she was right.

That said there seems to be a lot more consistency with the views on Bendtner, and it’s a damning verdict for the kid from Copenhagen. Most agree that he isn’t good enough to wear the red and white of the Arsenal.

Are the fans being too harsh? He is a frustrating player to watch at times but I believe the potential is there. My credibility as a football supporter may be questioned when I state that Arsenal may well have a twenty five goals a season striker in the player that I heard one fan call “Nicklas Bambi” this weekend.

So let’s look at the stats. It may surprise you to hear that Bendtner has scored twenty one goals for Arsenal in just forty starts. Of course with sub appearances, this ratio of one in two rises to one in four, but as football fans I think we sometimes underestimate how difficult it can be to make an impact off of the bench.

Age is also a factor, many forget he’s only twenty one and he is an improving player. His record at this age is quite impressive in comparison to some of the other strikers that have graced the pitch at Highbury and the Emirates.

Adebayor may be the toast of the town at the moment after his stunning goal against Villarreal, but this wasn’t always the case for the man from Togo.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?