Nicklas Bendtner was our first choice centre forward for a significant part of last season, and outdid himself in many people’s eyes with a run of eight goals in ten games in the spring. So, upon hearing news of his impending return from injury a few weeks ago, my thoughts immediately focussed on whether the man’s unshakable confidence in himself and Chamakh’s early season form might create an issue.

Not at first, as he assured us he was delighted with the start his new teammate had made to life at Arsenal – but things changed on Saturday.
"I’m extremely disappointed with the lack of minutes on the field," Bendts told a Danish newspaper, despite only returning three weeks ago. "When I’m 100 percent fit, I can’t accept sitting on the bench. I’m good enough for the starting eleven at Arsenal. If the situation doesn’t change, I’ll look for a transfer. I’ve had a lot of patience and I won’t sit on the bench anymore."



Of course, we’ve seen this already this season – Wojciech Szczesny’s complaints in September regarding his lack of action caught many by surprise and were met by a fear that we might lose a truly bright goalkeeping prospect. When a new contract is signed, I always check the players’ quotes for reaction to the deal. In Szczesny’s case, I had an eye open for something which didn’t feature – he made no apology or explanation for his outspoken conduct. But then, should he? Yes, respect for your manager and teammates is a must, but is impatience and self-conviction always a bad thing?



During the Manchester derby last week, (in-between constant flicks to Sky Sports News and Phil Brown reporting on the match at Molineux, kiss-of-death fears thankfully proving unfounded), I noted the considerable reluctance with which Alex Ferguson introduced Wes Brown early in the second half, as a replacement for the injured Rafael. At 31, here is a man who has been quite content spending large parts of his career as an auxiliary defender, playing second fiddle to the likes of Nemanja Vidic, Mikael Silvestre and John O’Shea.

It’s hard to find an Arsenal player who would settle for that.

Denilson is still young, and has spoken of his aspiration to make Brazil’s squad for the 2014 World Cup in his homeland – he won’t achieve that sitting on the bench. Eboue considered life in Italy when Fiorentina made enquiries a couple of years back. Even the seemingly ever-smiling Vela was linked in the foreign press with a switch to Deportivo last summer.

Each one of our players is constantly craving a place in the starting lineup, only some positions are more exclusive than others, hence the issue with Szczesny. There can only be one in his position on the pitch.

Who is Arsenal’s number one goalkeeper? It is not an easy question – Arsene Wenger declines to give a clear-cut response, and opinion differs from one Gooner to the next. Almunia and his experience? Fabianski and his form? Szczesny, with all his potential? Disconcertingly for a club with title aspirations, the answer seems to change not just season by season, but month by month based on who is making the least errors.



If Wenger is set on Szczesny eventually becoming Arsenal’s first genuinely long-term goalkeeper since David Seaman, our joy at his new deal could be offset by a looming feeling that there might be no immediate de Gea, Akinfeev or Lloris coming in. He’ll still have to wait if Fabianski’s consistency continues to grow. Clearly, Wojciech hopes to play a bigger part for Arsenal than merely hosting regular starters like Jack Wilshere for quiet nights in front of X-Factor, and soon. We probably haven’t heard the last of the discontent.

But ambition – expressed in the right way – should be celebrated. If this is the case, good luck to him, and good luck to Bendtner.