Daily Links: The Great Danish Ego Edition

Nicklas Bendtner is still an Arsenal player.
(Photo courtesy Ronnie Macdonald)

The failed attempt to pry Demba Ba away from Chelsea forced Arsene Wenger to kill a deal with Crystal Palace for Nicklas Bendtner. The egomaniacal Danish striker hasn't appeared in a match for Arsenal since Aug. 2011, spending time at Sunderland and Juventus in search of a new permanent home.

Despite his greatest efforts, he is still a member of the Arsenal first team, and it's pretty clear he's now apart of Arsene Wenger's plans. Bendtner released a statement on Tuesday, which seems to admit that he's been a childish prat and that he wants to be friends again.

With only Olivier Giroud and Yaya Sanogo as true strikers, Bendtner is needed. Theo Walcott will probably see time up front, as will Lukas Podolski whenever he's healthy enough to do so.

Regardless, here's Bendtner's statement. (Arseblog)

Like Robbie Savage or not, I agree with most of this column. Olivier Giroud is going to get goals for Arsenal as long as he is healthy. He was great against Spurs, and he has been for most of the season. But Arsenal needs another striker. It's why the Boss didn't sell Bendtner after the Ba deal fell through. Frankly, I'm a bit worried even with that other big signing. (BBC Sport)

Apparently Paris St. German made a bigger offer to Real Madrid for Mesut Özil, but the transfer fee had already been agreed upon by Arsenal and Real. Credit, can't believe I'm saying this, to Madrid for keeping their word, especially after spending eleventy billion dollars on Senor Bale. (The Daily Mirror)

Gooner and writer Amy Lawrence writes what we've all be thinking. There's a particularly apt comparison between Mr. Özil and an Arsenal legend. (The Guardian)

Another analysis of Özil, specifically what he means for Arsenal and his teammates. (TSN)

Wojciech Szczesny was fantastic against Tottenham on Saturday. However, adding another first-team-capable goalkeeper to the side was a good move. Emiliano Viviano plans to challenge Szczesny for the No. 1 jersey, and that was really the point in the first place, wasn't it? (Sky Sports)

Kind of late on this, but the news is bad for Lukas Podolski. It's still impossible to tell how long any player will be out. Regardless, the 10-week prognosis is not what we wanted to hear. (The Guardian)

Arsenal's next match isn't for 11 days, but it's never too early to start laughing at Sunderland. John O'Shea received a red card in Sundy's 3-1 (!!!!) loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday, and Paoli di Canio is furious with him for it. He'll be unavailable for the meeting at the Stadium of Light two Saturdays from now. (BBC Sport)

Listen to Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey talk, because, well neither of them seem very comfortable doing it. (Sky Sports)

Finally, this song isn't entirely true anymore, but it made me laugh all the same. (YouTube)