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Wenger believes in Bendtner

Image: Nicklas Bendtner: Has linked up with Juventus on a season-long loan

Arsene Wenger claims to have never lost faith in Nicklas Bendtner and says there could be a route back to the Arsenal first-team for the Danish striker.

Gunners boss says striker still has a future at the Emirates

Arsene Wenger claims to have never lost faith in Nicklas Bendtner and says there could be a route back to the Arsenal first-team for the Danish striker. The 24-year-old has never been short on self-belief, but has struggled to produce his best in limited outings for the Gunners. A lack of regular starts has done little to aid his cause and he has grown increasingly frustrated with life at the Emirates. A loan spell at Sunderland last season allowed him to spearhead a Premier League attack, and he fared admirably in a team which ended the campaign in 13th place. He was reluctant to return to Arsenal and another bit-part role in North London, and Juventus offered him a further loan opportunity.

Value

Wenger believes Bendtner, who impressed for Denmark at Euro 2012, will show his true colours in Serie A and has refused to rule out the prospect of him leading Arsenal's line at some point in the future. "He can do well in Italy," the Gunners boss told Corriere dello Sport. "He's a top player for me, but he's had difficulties here. You can't doubt the player's value though. "We believe in him and that is why we only gave him to Juventus on loan. "I think he can resolve his problems with us and prove himself. We believe in him."
Value
While Juve were able to lure Bendtner to Serie A over the summer, they missed out on Robin van Persie. Wenger claims the package pieced together by the Turin giants fell well short of Arsenal's valuation, despite the Dutchman having only 12 months left to run on his contract. "Juventus can't think about selling players for €70million and then buying new ones for a tenth of that amount," he said. "That would be too easy, but that is not possible in today's football. "Van Persie would have been a free agent in the summer of 2013, but we decided to sell after Manchester United made a great offer."

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