Arsenal Transfer Rumours: Gunners Must Part Ways with Nicklas Bendtner

Nicklas Bendtner has had a much easier time fitting in with Denmark's national team than he has with Arsenal, and the Gunners would be wise to acknowledge that by parting ways with the Danish star this summer.

According to the Daily Mail's John Drayton, Arsenal and Malaga have already begun discussing a potential transfer that would send Bendtner to the Spanish club:

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The Spanish side want the Gunners' Danish striker and have offered defender Jesus Gamez as a sweetener in the deal.

Gamez, a right back and the club's captain, has three years left on his contract at Malaga and has been at the club for a decade.

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It's been two years since Bendtner last suited up for Arsenal. He appeared just once for the club in 2011-12, but played 30 matches for Sunderland on loan that season before making the jump to Juventus, where he struggled mightily this past season.

After failing to score in 10 matches for the Italian champions in 2012-13, the number of reasons why the Gunners should part ways with the 25-year-old striker now severely outweigh those why Arsene Wenger should keep him.

There's no question that the 6'4" forward has talent. Unfortunately, he simply hasn't maximized his potential at the Emirates.

Although Bendtner has been a star for Denmark over the years, scoring 22 goals in 55 appearances since 2006, he has struggled to fit in when he swaps his national team kit for an Arsenal one—as is evident based on his 22 goals in 99 league appearances for the Gunners dating back to 2005.

Sending him to Malaga won't help Arsenal improve, but it will eliminate a distraction by finalizing his future while at the same time potentially providing the club with a quality player like Gamez in return.

Bendtner isn't helping Wenger win matches, and isn't the top-flight striker the team is searching for this summer. If he was, the Gunners likely wouldn't have placed a £40 million-plus bid for Liverpool's Luis Suarez. 

The consistency and the production simply hasn't been there for Bendtner at Arsenal. He scored a career-best 15 goals in 2008-09, but he needed 50 appearances to reach that mark.

With no Arsenal player scoring more than 14 Premier League goals last season and the summer transfer window starting to wind down, Wenger can't afford to wait around for Bendtner to take the next step. 

It's time the Gunners part ways with the up-and-down striker for good. 

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