Arsenal have decided to retire the number 52 shirt to honour Nicklas Bendtner who called time on his playing career today aged just 33.
The Tårnby FF. striker, reportedly fearful of tarnishing his great legacy, is hanging up his boots while still at the absolute height of his game.
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Gunners legend Bendtner scored 45 times in 7 years at the Emirates and is regarded by some of his closest friends as one of the greatest players ever to wear the famous red jersey.
‘It’s a sad day for everyone connected with the club’, Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke told Paddy Power News.
‘The 52 shirt has become synonymous with Nicklas and as such, the club has decided to retire this number to remember one of our own’.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 03: Nicklas Bendtner of Arsenal celebrates scoring a late winner during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium on April 3, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
‘There’s only one Lord Bendtnar’, sobbed the 73-year-old tycoon.
It’s understood Kroenke has also commissioned a statue in honour of the Dane to be erected outside the Emirates Stadium.
However, due to space issues outside the ground, the statue of French forward Thierry Henry will be torn down to make away.
Discussing his retirement with Paddy Power News, Bendtner said it was always his intention to ‘go out at the top’.
‘Sure, I could have prolonged my career by dropping down a division or two but I prefer to finish now in the fourth tier of Danish football while still at the peak of my powers’, revealed the Dane.
‘Growing up as a child, it was always my dream to play for Tårnby FF over 32s in the Danish Old Boys league’.
‘Having achieved that goal, I feel the time is right to bow out and allow others such as Cristiano and Lionel their time in the limelight’, he added.
So what does the future hold for Bendtner who claims to have once defeated a brick wall in a game of tennis in straight sets?
‘Wimbledon, UFC, creating my own cryptocurrency? They’re all possibilities. We’ll see’.
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