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David Bentley
Personal information
Full name	David Michael Bentley
Date of birth	August 27, 1984 (age 22)
Place of birth	Peterborough, England
Height	1.75 m
Nickname	Tanky
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Blackburn Rovers
Number	11
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001-2006 2004-2005 2005-	Arsenal → Norwich City (loan) Blackburn Rovers	01 (0) 26 (2) 58 (6)
National team2
2005-	England U21	08 (4)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:48, 24 March 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 14:48, 24 March 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

David Michael Bentley (born August 27, 1984 in Peterborough) is an English football player. He currently plays for Blackburn Rovers.

Contents 1 Arsenal F.C. 2 Blackburn Rovers 3 International career 4 Career statistics 5 Notes 6 External links

Bentley started his career at Arsenal as a forward, occasionally playing in the hole. However, as seasons went by he found himself being used primarily in midfield, usually as a wide midfielder. He was handed his senior début for Arsenal in January 2003, coming on as a substitute for Kolo Touré in the 77th minute of a 2-0 FA Cup Third Round win over Oxford United. Bentley's first goal for Arsenal, an audacious lob in a 4-1 Carling Cup win over Middlesbrough in January 2004, earned comparisons with Arsenal veteran Dennis Bergkamp.

However, Bentley spent the whole of the next league season on loan to Norwich City, playing 26 games and scoring two goals. His season at Carrow Road was interrupted by an injury sustained in January. He finally returned the side in April 2005, coming off the bench against Manchester United and playing a key role in Norwich's 2-0 win. Despite a late run of form, the Canaries were relegated from the Premiership on the last day of the season. He returned to Arsenal in the summer of 2005, but submitted a transfer request, citing his desire for first team football.

Desiring a permanent move, Bentley was linked with a number of clubs including Wolverhampton Wanderers, before being dispatched on a further season's loan to Blackburn Rovers, on summer transfer deadline day, August 31, 2005. On the winter transfer deadline day, 31 January 2005, Blackburn announced they had signed Bentley on a permanent basis from Arsenal.

In Bentley's first match after permanently signing for Blackburn, he scored his first senior hat trick in a 4-3 victory against Manchester United. This made him the first player in the history of the Premiership to score three goals in one game against United; the previous player to have scored a league hat-trick against United was Dennis Bailey of QPR, in an old First Division match in 1992.

Bentley's three goals against United were his only goals in the league in 2005-06. However, the 2006-07 season has seen him become more of a regular goalscorer for Rovers including some stunning strikes. A 25 yard volley against Salzburg in the UEFA Cup helped secure Rovers' passage into the group stage, where he also scored a last minute winner against Wisla Krakow.

On 27 February 2007, Bentley agreed to a new contract that would keep him with Blackburn until 2011.^[1]

Bentley is a former captain of the England under-18 team, and is also an England under-21 international, with seven caps and four goals. He was recalled to the England Under 21 squad by new manager Stuart Pearce, for the match against Spain on Tuesday 6 February 2007. He also played against the Italy Under 21 squad at the new Wembley Stadium on March 24, 2007, and became the first Englishman to score there.

Bentley believes that he should be part of the England first team due to his performances in the 2006-07 season.^{[citation needed]}

(correct as of 28 February, 2007)

Club	Season	League			Cup[2]			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Arsenal	2002-03	1	0	-	1	0	-	0	0	0	1	0	-
	2003-04	1	0	-	6	1	-	1	0	-	8	1	-
Norwich City (loan)	2004-05	26	2	4	2	0	-	0	0	0	28	2	4
Blackburn Rovers	2005-06	29	3	1	6	2	-	0	0	0	35	5	1
	2006-07	27	3	6	4	0	0	8	3	2	39	6	8
Career totals											111	14	13

• Statistics at ESPN.com
• David Bentley Official Website at Icons.com
• Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net
• David Bentley career stats at Soccerbase
• Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk

Blackburn Rovers F.C. - Current Squad
1 Friedel | 3 Khizanishvili | 4 Todd | 5 Tugay | 6 Nelsen | 7 Emerton | 8 Savage | 9 Nonda | 10 McCarthy | 11 Bentley | 12 Gamst Pedersen | 13 Enckelman | 14 Reid | 15 Mokoena | 16 Henchoz | 17 Jeffers | 18 Gallagher | 19 Dunn | 20 Ooijer | 21 Samba | 22 Warnock | 23 Brown | 25 Berner | 27 Derbyshire | 28 Fielding | 29 Treacy | 30 Roberts | 31 Peter | 32 Nolan | 33 Gray | Manager: Hughes