Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner says he never really got on with his Arsenal strike partner in the latest issue of FourFourTwo - and reveals his favourite team-mates
(Image credit: Getty)
Nicklas has revealed that he never got on with Emmanuel Adebayor while the pair played together at Arsenal.
Speaking in the January 2021 issue of FourFourTwo– in shops on Friday December 11 and available to order online now – Bendtner said that during a defeat to Tottenham in 2008, the pair came to came to blows and ultimately never settled their differences. Bendtner and Adebayor were permanently split up the following year when the Togolese striker departed north London for Manchester City.
"Me and Emmanuel never had a good relationship from the first moment we met," Bendtner claimed to FFT. "We never got on. At that moment we were losing 5-1 to Tottenham in the League Cup, so everybody was upset – we’d all put in an awful performance. "
"Adebayor came on in the second half and we had a heated argument on the pitch."
"It was still going on while we had a corner, and he walked up to me and shoved me with both hands," he continued. "He even headbutted me on the nose, which left a little cut. We quickly got pulled apart."
"Back in the dressing room, we had a bit of an incident. The next day we went to the manager’s office and got fined for our behaviour, which we accepted. We never spoke at Arsenal after that, and haven’t ever since."
"Wenger didn’t mind that we didn’t like each other, but said we had to behave in the right way."
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The Dane was full of praise, though, when pressed on who his favourite strike partner was while at the Emirates.
"The striker I played with the most was Robin van Persie, so he’d probably be my favourite partner," Bendtner said. "We played a lot in a 4-4-2 setup."
"My favourite midfield player was Cesc Fabregas, because of his incredible passing ability and how he could always find you."
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