Bendtner on his way to Sporting Lisbon

Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner is heading for the Emirates exit door with the Arsenal player set to join Sporting Lisbon in a £9million deal.

After a couple of frustrating seasons, self proclaimed world class striker Nicklas Bendtner looks to have finally secured a move away from Arsenal.

Set for a fresh start in Portugal

The Dane was given permission to miss Arsenal’s training camp in Germany last week and has been reportedly pictured in Portugal where talks are in their final stages.

Reports in Portugal say the 23-year-old will be unveiled before Sporting’s friendly with Spanish side Valencia at th weekend.

The Denmark international was put up for sale at the start of the summer by manager Arsene Wenger and attracted interest from Barclays Premier League side Everton.

The striker has struggled to hold down a first team place at the Emirates and the recent arrival of Gervinho has pushed him further down the pecking order.

He will leave two shy of a century of Premier League appearances for the Gunners, having scored 22 league goals.

Bendtner made 156 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 45 goals in all competitions, but with first-team places limited at the Emirates the confident forward signaled his intentions to leave this summer in search of more regular game time.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who faces a battle to keep the services of Barcelona-bound captain Cesc Fabregas and contract rebel midfielder Samir Nasri, conceded earlier he would not stand in Bendtner’s way of a departure.

Meanwhile, reports in Spanish daily Marca claim that Juan Mata will decide in the next few days whether he will join Arsenal or Tottenham. It was reported yesterday that Harry Redknapp launched an eleventh hour bid to lure Mata to White Hart Lane and according to Spanish reports, Mata is considering the bid. Marca claim that Mata was ready to agree a deal with Arsenal but the bid from Tottenham has put that on hold much to the frustration of Arsene Wenger.

Juan Mata’s father, who acts as his agent, has said that Juan Mata is seriously considering both offers and will make a decision by the end of the week.

Tags: Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Denmark, Nicklas Bendtner, Portugal, Sporting Lisbon, The Emirates Stadium, the Gunners