to Birmingham City Bendtner was loaned to Championship team Birmingham City in August 2006 to gain first team experience; the loan initially ran until January 2007. He made his debut for Birmingham as a substitute for Stephen Clemence against Colchester United on 5 August. He played the final half-hour and scored the winning goal. The loan at Birmingham was extended until the end of the 2006–07 season. He finished with eleven league goals as Birmingham were promoted to the Premier League as Championship runners-up. 2007–08 season Bendtner signed a new five-year contract with Arsenal in May 2007, and returned to the club for the 2007–08 Premier League season. After impressing at Birmingham, the teenage striker was presented with opportunities to seek first-team football elsewhere, with reports that Olympique Lyonnais and Milan wanted the promising teenager, but he stayed on in order to earn his place in the starting eleven. Bendtner scored his first goal at the Emirates Stadium against Paris Saint-Germain in the inaugural Emirates Cup pre-season tournament; he assisted another for Mathieu Flamini and missed a late penalty. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute against Fulham on 12 August 2007. His first competitive strike for the Gunners was the match-winning goal in a 2–0 League Cup match against Newcastle United on 25 September 2007. On 23 October, he scored his debut UEFA Champions League goal in the 89th minute against Slavia Prague, finishing off a back-heeled pass from Emmanuel Eboué to complete a 7–0 win and equal the record Champions League victory. Bendtner's first Premier League goal came on 22 December 2007 in a 2–1 Arsenal victory in the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium. He headed the winning goal from a Cesc Fàbregas corner just 1.8 seconds (official time) after coming on as a substitute for Eboué, breaking the previous record. His first Premier League start came a week later at Everton; he was sent off for two bookable offences. After serving his suspension, he scored his first FA Cup goal against Burnley on 6 January 2008 as Arsenal won 2–0. During the season, manager Arsène Wenger tried to partner Bendtner with Emmanuel Adebayor whenever Robin van Persie was rested. Bendtner and Adebayor, however, did not get along well. It became apparent during the 2008 League Cup semi-final second leg away at Tottenham when the pair had a heated on-pitch altercation