The Times are reporting this evening that Arsenal’s striker crisis could be eased by the early return of Nicklas Bendtner.

The Dane was recently ruled out for a month with an ankle problem, sustained as he scored the Gunners opener against Cardiff City on New Year’s day, but should now be available for the FA Cup clash with Coventry City in sixteen days time.

According to Matt Hughes‘ the 25-year-old has been ‘given the all-clear to resume light training next week’ with the Premier League showdown with Fulham on the 18 January an outside target.

With Theo Walcott ruled out for the rest of the season the news, coupled with Yaya Sanago’s return to full training, suggests that Arsene Wenger may not need to recruit a new attacking option as much as has been suggested.

A couple of weeks is certainly better than a month given the busy schedule. Let’s hope it’s true and Nicklas can pick up where he left off with his last lethal touch.

Cheers to @Gunnerblog for the heads up.