On Wednesday, Arsenal progressed to the next round of the Capitol One cup after beating WestBrom 4-3 in penalties after 120 minutes of 1-1 draw.
Thomas Eisfeld gave the visitors the lead just after the hour mark with a composed finish after the returning Nicklas Bendtner set him up. But West Brom responded well and levelled 10 minutes later through Saido Berahino’s close-range header. Bendtner had a chance to win it in extra time when he was put through by Serge Gnabry, while Steven Reid and Morgan Amalfitano hit the crossbar for West Brom.
Ultimately, two hours of football could not separate the sides so the tie went to spot-kicks. Reid, Bendtner and Markus Rosenberg all scored before Luke Daniels saved from Gnabry. James Morrison and Kris Olsson netted but Craig Dawson missed and Chuba Akpom levelled the shoot-out. The tie swung Arsenal’s way when Amalfitano shot wide – and Nacho Monreal found the top corner to take the Gunners through.
The game for me was about the great Dane, the world best, our Nicklas Bendtner. Playing football for the first time in months, the Dane put up an above average performance that Wenger couldn’t bear to overlook.
Overall he was fantastic,” Wenger told Arsenal Player.
“He fought on his own up front for two hours tonight and he has shown that he has a desire to come back and that he has some heart. He worked very hard to come back to this level and tonight he has shown he has the quality.”
Bendtner had not played for Arsenal since August 2011. After the game, Bendtner posted an emotional message on Instagram in which he thanked the travelling supporters and admitted that “hearing my song again made my heart skip”.
“It was just the feeling I had, being back in the shirt and playing,” Bendtner told Arsenal Player. “The fans giving [me] that reception, I didn’t expect that. It made me very emotional. I think that’s the only way really to explain it.
“I’m not a guy who feels a lot of things and talks about my feelings and stuff like that but I felt something when that happened and that’s very unusual for me. I felt I needed to say it.
“It makes a huge difference [having the fans’ support]. It’s something I would have thought about because in the whole transfer window situation, no one denied the fact that I was trying to leave. The boss also said that they were happy to let me go.
“Then a lot of things happened, a lot of things got turned upside down. In football you can never say never. I ended up being here.
While a lot of gooners are still skeptical about Nik, you can have a piece of goonerdaily’s reasons to give him a chance. So many are suggesting offloading him by January but I am against that; let him finish the season with us. He might score that winning goal. If you want him out, get me Lewandowski. Shikena.
Today, the Gunners hope to go for their 12th consecutive away win against Swansea in Wales. I believe we would grab three points with the return of Arteta and Vermaleen. we must be mindful of Jonjo Shelvey and Michu. I hope Jonjo jonzes and gift us two goals as he did to his former employees.
Nevertheless, Spurs and Blues have share the points at White Hart Lane, so the top is ours for grab.
Come On You Gunners, drawn the swans at sea.
rushing to watch the match.
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