Nicklas Bendtner is notoriously not short of confidence. In an interview with a UK newspaper three years ago the Danish international summed up his levels of self-belief by claiming: “I want to be known as a world-class striker. And it will happen. Trust me, it will happen. I look around at other players, I see my own ability and I can’t see anything that tells me it won’t happen.â€
Countless times since then, those words have come back to haunt him; most memorably, perhaps, was back in March 2010, when a trio of sitters even forced Bendtner to laugh it off as he made his way to the subs bench. Firmly behind Robin Van Persie in the pecking order up front for Arsene Wenger’s side, Bendtner mustered a mere eight goals in the previous two seasons and with his chances of first-team football at the Emirates little-to-non-existent, a loan move to Sunderland on the last day of this season’s summer transfer window afforded the big Dane a chance in the spotlight.
Bendtner was far from world class during the first half of his season under Sunderland’s then-manager Steve Bruce, scoring just two goals. He fared little better during the winter months when Martin O’Neill arrived at the Stadium of Light, as injury curtailed his game time. From December through to February he managed a solitary goal and missed four fixtures, with those words from three years ago continued to echo solemnly around Premier League grounds.
The month of March, however, saw a dramatic turnaround in form, with Bendtner surprisingly emerging as one of the most potent strikers in the Premier League. From Gameweek 27 through to Gameweek 31, Bendtner notched up four goals, amassed seven bonus points and produced two assists to take his Fantasy Premier League tally over those five games to 37. In terms of forwards, only Papiss Cisse, with 39 points, managed to outperform the 6.1 priced Bendtner.
With six goals in their last two games, the Sunderland team as a whole, especially Stephan Sessegnon – who assisted Bendtner’s goal against Manchester City last weekend – are also among the Premier League’s form sides. With Sessegnon, Seb Larsson and James McClean, there is plenty of willing support to help Bendtner maintain his eye for goal and add to his six assists so far this season.
He certainly has some strong home fixtures on the horizon to test this theory (TOT, eve, WOL, avl, BOL, ful, MAN). Crucially Sunderland also play during Gameweek 34, hosting Wolves when eight teams miss out due to FA Cup scheduling, making him an even more valuable asset in the coming weeks should his form continue. With a strong home game in Gameweek 36 against Bolton, those Fantasy managers who are perhaps looking for alternatives to the double Gameweek will be eyeing up the 1% owned differential over the Gameweeks ahead. Who knows, if Bendtner can keep up this goal scoring record, maybe, just maybe, he’ll prove himself to be right all along.
