Nicklas Bendtner s thumping header 13 minutes from time meant the Gunners end their home campaign with a win – and earned him special praise from his manager Arsene Wenger. The Dane netted his third goal in his past five Premier League games to settle a l

Nicklas Bendtner's thumping header 13 minutes from time meant the Gunners end their home campaign with a win - and earned him special praise from his manager Arsene Wenger.

The Dane netted his third goal in his past five Premier League games to settle a lacklustre match when he rose to head Armand Traore's cross past Tim Howard.

Wenger said: "Bendtner? Fantastic. I think if you look at Bendtner on the August 1 and Bendtner on May 1 there is a massive difference.

"He has become a good player. Look at the chances he has created in the time he plays, and the times he has scored, especially the goal he scored today."

The goal aside, Arsenal, who were missing Cesc Fabregas's authority in midfield, lacked their usual cutting edge against an Everton side who showed limited ambition.

Emmanuel Adebayor shot tamely at Howard while Gilberto Silva headed wide in a dull first half before Bendtner's strike earned the Gunners their 14th home league win of the season after the interval.

Everton barely troubled the Arsenal goal, with Polish keeper Lukasz Fabianski only needing to repel an Andrew Johnson effort with his legs to maintain a clean sheet before he was replaced for the final 21 minutes by Jens Lehmann, who was making his 199th and last appearance for the club.