Connolly saws the Dane's complaints saw then Arsenal U18 coach Steve Bould tear strips off Bendtner for being so defeatist.
He recalled to The Sun: “We’d be in team meetings and he’d look like he had the hump.
“(Youth team coach) Steve Bould asked him what was wrong and he said, ‘I don’t understand why we signed Adebayor, I’m here, I’m ready to play’. We were only 17 at the time and nowhere near the first team.
“Steve would give him a bit of a rollicking about it, tell him he used to play against strikers like Alan Shearer, and Nick would be like, ‘I’m better than Alan Shearer’.
“It’s just because he believes in himself. People used to mix up his confidence for arrogance. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
“Wojciech Szczesny was the same. He used to go away with Poland when he was 16 or 17 and say to their press that he should have been ahead of Jens Lehmann, which is obviously ludicrous, but they believe in themselves. Nick was the same.”
Bendtner never fulfilled his potential, though did turn out for the Gunners and Juventus at senior level.