should arsenal have kept bentley?

[thebigman]

after a good season at blackburn showing everyone what hes capable of and talks of an england call up, do u think wenger dismissed bentley too quickly?

he can play up front as well as on the flanks and his direct skillfull play has been good to watch at times

id rather have someone like him on the right than the current hleb myself, has wenger let go of a potential star player?

[antifan]

after a good season at blackburn showing everyone what hes capable of and talks of an england call up, do u think wenger dismissed bentley too quickly?

he can play up front as well as on the flanks and his direct skillfull play has been good to watch at times

id rather have someone like him on the right than the current hleb myself, has wenger let go of a potential star player?
Bentley dismissed himself. He didn't want to wait for his chance in the team and left. How many years has he been at Blackburn? And he's still waiting for that call from the England squad? I don't miss him, he's got an attitude problem, i haven't heard much talk of any of the big clubs coming in for him either.

[thebigman]

i diddnt know he dismissed himself? i thought blackburn offered a fee and arsenal accepted?

[SLO-Gunner]

Bentley wouldn't have become a Prem team starter had he stayed at Arsenal. Sometimes all a player needs a change of scenery to blossom (and obviously I'm using the term very loosely). This reminds me, albeit very remotely, about the situation with Cesc and Barca. Barca fans may complain about Arsenal having snatched him away but chances are overwhelmingly that Cesc wouldn't be where he is at 19 had he stayed at Barca. It can go the other way as well obviously (Anelka maybe) but both moves have been good for football.

[Gooner_for_Life]

I think antifan means he dismissed himself because he wasnt willing to stick around any longer and try to break into the team. In my opinion i dont think he would have become anything better then a squad player who would have only seen opportunities when others were injured.

This is probably the only thing that i give Ali great for. He has stuck around for years now trying to break into the team. I dont think we should keep him but that is a different matter.

[antifan]

i diddnt know he dismissed himself? i thought blackburn offered a fee and arsenal accepted?
Yeah, Arsenal let him leave because he made it clear to anyone that would listen that he wanted out. Wenger doesn't keep players who don't want to be there.

Edit: He actually handed in a transfer request as well, a rarity these days.

[CRASH 4 ARSENAL]

He's really not good enough for Arsenal.

Well, maybe this season he would have been. But if Arsenal is a contender to actually win things, then Bentley is not good enough.

[ASkergonan]

I recall Bentley saying something to the effect that he would rather stay at Norwich(in the ccc) than go back to the reserves.
Regardless, I really don't rate him. MGP on the other hand...

[Arsonists]

After his hat trick last year I wrote this and I stick to it.




http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7399290&postcount=66

[king_allsopp]

we dont need Bentlley we got Bendtner :)

[Arsenal_pwns_all]

Considering how poor he was at Norwich I don't see how anyone could complain about letting Bentley go. I do agree that he might have been better than Hleb, but that's down more to how poor Hleb is than how good Bentley is.

[mixmastermatt]

Guys this is all with hindsight. At the time we had plenty of cover in his area and he got a couple of games towards the end of the season because of his skill. At the end of season parade when all the players came out onto the balcony at islington town hall all he said was "Hi, I am David Bentley, none of you know me because I never get to play". I thought what an arrogant cock. You have to earn the right to play. At the time he wasn't needed. He went on loan to Norwich and didn't do amazingly well. He did well, but nothing special. Then he was sold to Blackburn for the right price. They gave him time and space which he could never of got at Arsenal. With that he flourished with only players like Tugay breathing down his neck and not Freddie Ljungberg.

[antifan]

Guys this is all with hindsight. At the time we had plenty of cover in his area and he got a couple of games towards the end of the season because of his skill. At the end of season parade when all the players came out onto the balcony at islington town hall all he said was "Hi, I am David Bentley, none of you know me because I never get to play". I thought what an arrogant cock. You have to earn the right to play. At the time he wasn't needed. He went on loan to Norwich and didn't do amazingly well. He did well, but nothing special. Then he was sold to Blackburn for the right price. They gave him time and space which he could never of got at Arsenal. With that he flourished with only players like Tugay breathing down his neck and not Freddie Ljungberg.
You're too kind, he did shit with Norwich, then demanded a starting place. He wanted to go and he left, now he's an above average performer on an average team. He hasn't done anything to make me regret him leaving.

[red & wite army]

Bentley never particularly impressed at Arsenal - even in the Amsterdam pre-season tournament just before he left on loan to Blackburn he was anonymous on the field. I can only really remember him having the same initials as his 'big hero' Dennis, and that chip vs Boro.

Since then he has gone onto say that his prime here is Cantona and he has scored a few crackers - but good midfield play allround?

[JoeAFC_9]

"Hi, I am David Bentley, none of you know me because I never get to play".

I couldn't make the parade that year but i'd never heard that he'd said that! What a tosser!!