Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage at his apartment block.

The 25-year-old Arsenal striker was held by police in Hertfordshire on Monday in connection with damage to an apartment building where he lives in the Bushey area. Police said Bendtner has been cautioned – meaning he will not be required to attend court.

In a statement, Hertfordshire police said: "A 25-year-old man from Bushey has been cautioned for criminal damage and is no longer in custody. He was arrested in connection with an incident which occurred at an address in The Avenue, Bushey, in the early hours of 24 November."

Bendtner later issued an apology on his Instagram account: "On Saturday night after our win against Southampton I went out with my family and friends for dinner. After our dinner we all wanted a night swim in my gym so we changed to shorts and brought towels down. As we arrived at the gym my key fob changed the colour from red (locked) to green (open) but the door remained closed. We thought the door was stuck so we tried to open it and it caused some damage.

"I apologise for any inconvenience for my neighbours and I have paid in full. We had no part in damaging anything else in the building. The matter is closed with the police and my focus is on [Tuesday night's] match [against Marseille]."

The Denmark international has scored 45 goals for the Gunners in 164 appearances since making his debut for the club in the 2005-06 season. But despite early promise, the misfit striker has struggled to seize his opportunity at Arsenal, being loaned out to a succession of clubs including Sunderland, Birmingham City and Juventus.

Earlier this month, Bendtner spoke of his desire to leave Arsenal, telling the Danish paper Berlingske: "At the moment I am an easy target for [some of the fans] because I want to leave the club and Arsenal don't want to keep me. And these haters – they always choose the same solution. But I think it is unfair to have a go at me when I had a transfer in place in the summer and Wenger told me to stay.



"I am training far more seriously [now] than I have ever done in Arsenal. I am in the process of building myself up so that I become this strong machine, this perfect product to sell. I want to start as strongly as possibly in my next club."