Bruce: Bendtner was our best player by a million miles!

Bruce paired loan signing Nicklas Bendtner with Benin international Stephane Sessegnon in attack once again against West Brom on Saturday and saw the Denmark international score his first goal for the club and then set up the Ahmed Elmohamady equaliser which secured a 2-2 draw.

However, he also invested a total of more than £10million in Wickham, who missed out at the weekend with a groin strain, and Ji, a second-half substitute, and is confident they too will have significant roles to play this season.

"Sessegnon and Bendtner for a start - they have only been with each other for two or three weeks and they looked very, very good on Saturday. But certainly, Connor and Ji are in my thoughts. Their time might be just around the corner too, so let's hope when they get their chance, they can give everybody a lift too."

It will be hard to dislodge Bendtner at present, though, with Bruce admitting he was hugely impressed with the performance of the on-loan Arsenal man against West Brom.

"Nick was our best player by a million miles. He has settled in very, very quickly and very, very well and been a big plus point". He was terrific against Norwich and if we had got better service to him quicker, I'm sure we would have been better as a team".

Bendtner currently leads the official Star Man vote on the official Sunderland website with more than 40 % of the votes, closely followed by Elmohamady who scored the second Sunderland goal.

Bruce eager to sign Bendtner

Steve Bruce admits he would love to keep Nicklas Bendtner after watching the on-loan Arsenal man inspire Sunderland’s fightback against West Brom.

Bendtner scored one goal and set up the equaliser for Ahmed Elmohamady, as Sunderland recovered from a nightmare start which saw them 2-0 down inside five minutes, to earn a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light.

Bruce was full of praise for the 23-year-old, and pointed to the fact that Bendtner chose a move to Wearside over other offers as proof of the progress Sunderland have made since he took over two years ago.

“We’re very fortunate that he has come here and that, for me, is where the club has grown,” said Bruce, who also took Bendtner on loan while in charge at Birmingham five years ago. Given the clubs that were in for him, I don’t think we would have been able to bring him here two or three years ago. We can now offer him something that, in the past, I don’t think we could. The challenge for me is keeping him!"

“I’d love to sign Nick Bendtner tomorrow, and you can see why.”

Bendtner to fans: Fuck you!

When Nicklas Bendtner scored his first goal against Norway last month he shouted "Fuck you" to the Danish fans in the stadium.

It was not personal. Or maybe it was. Just not directed at the fans, who actually heard Nicklas Bendtner's outburst.

Just after scoring, the striker ran towards the national team's audience and emptied his lungs in a mixture of frustration and redemption. Now he explains what he was screaming - and why:

"Well, I shouted, Fuck you! I shouted it as loud as I could and it came straight from the heart to all the doubters", says Bendtner in an interview with Danish media.

Nicklas Bendtner clearly feels pursued - and the goal was an opportunity to give something back to those who have critized him and his football abilities - on both sides of the chalk lines.

"I can tolerate criticism of my football games, also my performance for the national team, but I hate it when some distort the truth and create their own lying picture of me - or the entire national team for that matter. It gives people the wrong image of me, and it's annoying", Bendtner said.

Hopefully for Denmark, the striker will get another opportunity to scream "Fuck you" to the Danish crowd in the two matches against Cyprus and Portugal in the following week.

Bendtner delighted with first goal

Nicklas Bendtner was happy to take his first goal for Sunderland however it came after helping to ease the pressure on manager Steve Bruce.

The on-loan Arsenal striker's 24th-minute effort sparked a comeback which eventually saw the Black Cats claim a 2-2 draw with West Brom after enduring a nightmare start to a game they could not afford to lose at the end of a traumatic week.

For Bendtner, the fact that his shot was deflected past Baggies keeper Ben Foster by defender Gareth McAuley's out-stretched leg after Sebastian Larsson had back-heeled the ball into his path did not matter one bit after a four-game wait to open his account in a red and white shirt.

"I was very delighted. I knew Seb was going to drag it back because he had seen me, but as I saw the tackle coming in, I thought 'Oh no', because it was difficult and I had to shoot first touch", Bendtner said.

"But then it deflected in and I was very pleased because it's always special to get off the mark no matter how it goes in. I was a bit unlucky against Norwich, but then again, it was always going to come at some point".

"If you keep putting yourself in the box and keep getting in amongst the chances, it will come for sure".

Bendtner: Sunderland just a stepping stone

"I miss the Champions League a lot. It's a little hard to see the fantastic tournament go ahead without being present", Nicklas Bendtner to Danish media.

Nicklas Bendtner has played a number of Champions League games with Arsenal and has among other things completed a Champions League hattrick against FC Porto.

The Danish striker also has a large requirement for his next employer.

"I will play Champions League with my next club. That is 100 % certain".

The loanee from Arsenal states that he has settled in well at Sunderland, but he sees it as a step towards something bigger.

"I am here primarily to play football as a solid first choice at my favorite place in front as a striker", Bendtner said, after scoring his first Sunderland goal Saturday.

Bendtner ends goal drought

Nicklas Bendtner scores his frist goal for Sunderland, and assisted the other, as Sunderland drew againt West Bromwich in the match on Saturday.

This brings Bendtners goal tally to 1 in 4 games, and his assist tally to 3 in 4 games.

Daily Star columnist slams Bendtner with harsh criticism

It seems as if the fans approve of Bendtner first three games in Sunderland, claming af third place, a second place and this week the first place in Sunderland AFCs Star Man competition.

Apperently not all share that point of view. Today, in his column "Wooly's world", journalist Brian Woolnough from Daily Star, writes about Steve Bruce's complete rebulid of the Sunderland squad:

"Bruce decided to completely re-build his side this season, using the £56m gained from selling Bent, Jordan Henderson, Kenwyne Jones and Anton Ferdinand. He made 11 signings and supporters wait to see if the quality of the above has been replaced. Or has he just bought squad players?"

On Bendtner he wrote:

"Bruce, for instance, has put the responsibility of goals in the hands of Danish international Nicklas Bendtner. At Arsenal the confident Bendtner said he could become the greatest striker in the world. A winning goal today would help his outrageous claim".

"Yet is swapping Bent with the disappointing Bendtner where Sunderland are at? Content with second best?".

With Bendtner in the line up for todays fixture, Bendtner will have the opportunity so silence some of his critics including Mr. Woolnough, however it would probably take a goal or two.

Bendtner confirmed in line up

Nicklas Bendtner will be in the line up for todays fixture against West Brom on the Stadium og Light, Sunderland AFC just confirmed on safc.com.