Former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner joins Nottingham Forest on two-year deal

Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of striker Nicklas Bendtner. The free agent has agreed a two-year deal at the City Ground and could make his debut on Sunday (11 September) as Philippe Montanier's side travel to take on free-spending promotion contenders Aston Villa. His arrival also comes just two weeks before the Tricky Trees entertain former club Arsenal in the third round of the EFL Cup on 20 September.

The supremely confident and much-maligned Dane, known more for his off-field antics than his abilities on the pitch, is the 12th player to join Forest since Montanier was appointed as permanent successor to Dougie Freedman in June.

Apostolos Vellios,Vladimir Stojkovic, Mustapha Carayol, Armand Traore, Damien Perquis, Thomas Lam and Stephen Henderson have all arrived on permanent deals, while Pajtim Kasami, Hildeberto Pereira and Nicolao Dumitru are currently on loan.

"Nottingham Forest is a big club with a great history and I can see myself fitting in here very well," Bendtner, who is evidently looking forward to forming a partnership with Britt Assombalonga, told the club's official website.

"The way the head coach plays football was something that spoke to me and I'm very pleased have signed for Forest. The club is rebuilding itself now with some very talented players and I look forward to being a part of that. If we reach our targets then it will be an amazing season. The head coach seems like a very professional guy, a man who wants to play football in the right way and who wants to do well.

"I've had a couple of training sessions already, it's a great group of lads right from the coaching staff to the medical staff to the players. They've taken a lot of time to show me everything here at the club so I'm really pleased."

Bendtner joined Arsenal as a teenager and initially spent time on loan in the second tier of English football with Birmingham City. He stayed with the Gunners for nine years in total, scoring 24 goals in 108 appearances and also being dispatched for further temporary spells with Juventus and Sunderland before being released in 2014.

The 28-year-old put pen to paper on a three-year deal with Wolfsburg later that summer, where he notched nine times in 47 outings. His contract was eventually terminated by the Bundesliga club in April – over a year ahead of schedule.

Bendtner joins a Forest team that currently lie seventh in the Championship table after amassing nine points from their opening five matches of the 2016/17 campaign. They have been particularly productive at home, netting 11 goals in just three victories over Burton Albion, Wigan Athletic and Leeds United. Fan discontent at the ownership of Fawaz Al-Hasawi deepened last month after the controversial £13m sale of highly-rated academy graduate and Scottish international winger Oliver Burke to RB Leipzig.