Do you agree that Nicklas Bendtner is one of Arsenal’s most underrated players? He is surely on the list because he doesn’t seem to get much credit. I’m not talking just amongst Gunners’ fans either. Even outsiders seem to see him as a weak link. At a time last season it became almost fashionable to slag him off.

Bendtner is undoubtedly a very good player. His first touch may not be as good as Robin Van Persie’s and he may not have the emphatic finishing ability of Andrey Arshavin, but he makes up for it with excellent link up play, bringing others into the action, along with good movement.

The Dane has just returned from injury and now it is time for him to prove me right. With Van Persie out for the foreseeable future and with the North Londoners needing a more powerful option upfront than - the now injured - Eduardo da Silva, it is all there for him to make his mark.

He certainly doesn’t underrate himself. He was in a buoyant mood ahead of this weekend’s crunch clash against Manchester United.

He told the Guardian: "If Eduardo is out, am I ready to come in? I wouldn't be here if I was wasn't ready. If I play Sunday, I will be ready as well and Manchester United is the sort of big game you'd love to come back into.

"Is this a chance to become the No1 striker? That is my plan. Is it achievable? Of course. Why am I so confident? It is simple. I am a good player. I've always had that belief. People ask me every time we speak 'Why are you like that?' and that's just the way it is. If I didn't think I could do it, I wouldn't be standing here telling you I could."

Bendtner doesn’t plan on making a timid return by the looks of it after three months out with a groin injury. He played 30 minutes in Wednesday’s fixture at Aston Villa and is confident of being in good condition to face the Champions.

"We have a lot of big games coming up. I've only trained one time with the team and played half an hour at Villa and everything feels okay. We will see how I am during the week and hopefully things will keep progressing so I will be 100% when the weekend comes,” he said.

Bendtner will add another dimension to Arsene Wenger’s attack and if the Danish striker can find his fitness sooner rather than later Arsenal will be all the better for it. It's time for Nicklas to walk the walk and prove all his doubters wrong.