- Nicklas Bendtner avoided being seriously injured as his group was attacked
- An individual has since been arrested and charged with attempted murder
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Former Arsenal star Nicklas Bendtner avoided being stabbed during a horrific incident after a knife-wielding individual attacked the group he was with while visiting New York.
The Dane – who scored 47 goals in 171 appearances for the Gunners – headed Stateside for a tour of the Big Apple last week when what was meant to be a casual stroll through the streets turned into a moment of true terror.
CCTV footage shows Bendtner and his entourage walking through the plush setting of Manhattan’s Upper West Side last Wednesday just seconds before a knifeman approaches them.
The next frame then shows a bearded man wearing shorts and a t-shirt sprinting in the direction of the visitors with a knife clutched in his left hand.
He is then seen fleeing from the scene with Bendtner later revealing that another member of the group – who is also a former professional footballer – was stabbed and subsequently rushed to hospital.
The 55-year-old stab victim was treated for face and ear injuries at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital with the knifeman later arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault.
Former Arsenal star Nicklas Bendtner (left) avoided being stabbed during a horrific incident after a knife-wielding individual attacked the group he was with in New York
Bendtner scored 47 goals in 171 appearances for the Gunners during his time at the club
A knifeman can be seen running with a blade in hand towards the group Bendtner was with
Bendtner later confirmed it was him in the footage with the attack happening in Manhattan
Bendtner later confirmed his presence after being captured on camera, telling Danish publication Ekstra Bladet: ‘Yes, I can confirm that it is me in the video.
‘Could it have been me who was attacked? I have no comment about that.
‘But I can confirm that it’s me on the video – it’s hard to run away from. The victim, a former professional soccer player, was walking with friends.’
The attacker was later confirmed by police as local New Yorker Joshua Zinberg with it alleged that the 25-year-old suffers from mental health issues and has a long criminal record.
Zinberg’s mother reportedly identified her son as the assailant after spotting him during television coverage of the incident as appeals were made to find the attacker.
Mayor of New York Eric Adams later shifted some of the blame onto the closure of mental health facilities in the city, stating: ‘We walk past people every day that we know they do not have the ability to make the right decision to take care of themselves.
‘This is a problem that was created when we closed the psychiatric facilities many years ago.
‘We closed them without giving people the support that they deserve.’