Wenger stands by Bendtner
06 Aug 2007 - 16:10:09
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- Wenger stands by Bendtner
Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner has been backed to be a major player for the Gunners this season by manager Arsene Wenger.
The 19-year-old Denmark international has only featured three times in two seasons with the Gunners, but impressed in netting 13 goals for Birmingham City last term as they secured promotion to the Premier League.
Bendtner has been a regular in the pre-season build-up and Wenger is expecting good things from the big frontman.
He said: "At the moment he is a raw talent.
"Nicklas is not completely ready to start in the Premier League and I wanted to give him as many games as I could in pre-season to help him understand what is needed.
"He is an intelligent and open-minded boy. We can have a frank discussion on what he has to do and he listens, then tries to do it.
"There was a lot of interest in him around Europe, but we wanted to keep him and extended his contract.
"He is super quick, very tall with good technique and he is intelligent. He just needs to play at a higher pace now. Certainly I believe the talent is in there."