Former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner has revealed that Emmanuel Adebayor was the only team-mate he could never get along with during his time at the club. The two forwards played together for three years, but their mutual dislike famously spilled over onto the pitch, even though they were on the same side.
Three Years of Tension at Arsenal
Bendtner came through the academy and made his debut in 2005, with Adebayor arriving later from Monaco. After Bendtner returned from a loan spell at Birmingham City, the pair became two of Arsene Wenger's striking options for the 2007/08 season but soon found they had little chemistry.
The Denmark international spent nine years in Arsenal's first team, later returning to England with Nottingham Forest, who host the Gunners on Sunday. The 38-year-old also had spells in Italy, Germany and Norway before retiring in his home country with Copenhagen, yet Bendtner has admitted that Adebayor was the one player he could not build a relationship with.
Clash During Spurs Defeat
Their uneasy dynamic notably came to the fore during a nightmare 5-1 League Cup semi-final defeat to rivals Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs ultimately going on to lift the trophy. The scoreline saw tensions rise as the strikers got into a heated exchange and squared up to each other during the game.
"There is only one guy I've fallen out with and that's Adebayor. We never liked each other. Apart from that I got on with most people," Bendtner told talkSPORT in 2021.
"We sat next to each other in the changing room. He was 25, I was 26, from the first moment we saw each other it was just a bad vibe. That never changed."
Focusing on their clash against Spurs, he continued: "We had some small bust-ups in the changing room and that quite big one in Tottenham where it sort of blew out of proportion. We got hammered 5-1, we were so bad and the disappointment of letting the fans and team down just got out of hand between us.
"We had that sting on the pitch then we had a little bit in the dressing room and then the next day we were in [Arsene] Wenger's office getting fined. It got explained how we had to learn how to deal with each other on a professional level and on a personal level."
"It was actually quite a good way of learning how to work with someone that you really disliked."
After Arsenal
Adebayor starred for Arsenal throughout the 2007/08 campaign, scoring 30 goals in all competitions, but was unable to fire Wenger's side to silverware. He was sold to Manchester City in 2009, which led to the striker's infamous celebration against his old club, and he later joined Spurs.
Bendtner notched 47 goals in 171 appearances for the Gunners before leaving for Wolfsburg at the end of his contract in 2014. The forward clinched the DFB-Pokal in his debut season but struggled for regular minutes. He headed back to England to sign for Forest, scoring twice in 17 appearances in his sole season at the City Ground.
A late-career renaissance with Rosenborg followed, as his goals steered the side to two league titles and the Norwegian Cup. The striker opted to retire in 2020 after a brief swansong with hometown club Copenhagen.
Bendtner may keep a close eye on Arsenal's next match as the Gunners look to continue their Premier League title challenge against another of his old clubs. Mikel Arteta's side will aim to trim the gap to league leaders Manchester City back to three points with a win over Forest.
