Arsenal: Nicklas Bendtner's Return Will Instill Belief in Gunners' Camp

Nicklas Bendtner is expected to return to full fitness after the international break, and should be in contention for a place in the 11 within the next few weeks. He will, most probably, be the third choice striker behind Marouane Chamakh and Robin van Persie, and will provide quality depth to the Gunners. He has not played a single minute of the Gunners' present campaign and will look to carry on from where he left in the last season.

He will not find it easy to break into the starting 11, having only just recovered from his injury. Chamakh has had a decent start to the season, and Van Persie, for all his injury problems, still remains Arsenal's first-choice striker. At only 22 years of age, the big Dane has time on his side, and should train hard to maintain his fitness.

The talent is there, and he just needs to improve on it to be a great striker for the Gunners. His confidence will help him achieve the heights he is capable of. In the latter stages of the last season, there were two men who took their opportunities when key players were injured: Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner.

After displaying his sloppiness in front of goal against Burnley at the Emirates in the last season, he scored a hat trick in the following midweek Champions League fixture against FC Porto. It shows that he is not one to be too bothered by all the criticism around him. That is exactly the sort of character that Arsenal will love to have in their squad at this moment, having lost consecutive matches in the league.

Last season, Arsenal lost a number of key players including the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Vermaelen, Robin van Persie, William Gallas, and Alex Song due to injuries, and Nicklas Bendtner was one of the most important players during that period. He scored a number of goals, and contributed some useful assists in that time, and shouldered responsibility as Arsenal's main striker.

In the last season, Arsenal eked out a number of results by scoring in the last few minutes, and Bendtner influenced many of those games. In the game against Hull City at the KC Stadium, Arsenal were not at their fluent best, and it was due to the sharpness of Bendtner that Arsenal managed to earn all the three points from the game.

It was a similar situation against Wolves at the Emirates with the score at 0-0 after 93 minutes. Bendtner thumped in the header from a Sagna cross to give Arsenal the win they craved for.

In the tough away fixture against Stoke, he showed great belief and equalised for the Gunners, scoring a quality header and even against Tottenham, he did score when the Gunners were two goals down. He is one player, who is not bogged down by pressure; on the contrary, he responds positively in adverse situations.

Though he is not the finished product by any stretch of imagination, he can be a great player for the future. He still has a long way to go, and should improve further under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger, who has shown great faith in the youngster.

The huge Dane has the attributes required to be a successful striker at the highest level. But at present, the Gunners do seem to lack belief within themselves, and the return of the confident striker should boost the spirits within the squad.