Bentley played in the Gunners' youth system and made one first-team appearance before joining Blackburn in 2005. The sell-on terms of that move to Spurs mean $14 million of the $30 million Tottenham spent on Bentley will go into Arsenal pockets.
At his unveiling, Bentley was keen to dismiss his history with London's red side.
"I grew up through the Arsenal youth team but it's not a problem for me, " he said. "All my heart is at Tottenham. Making the move here was an easy decision to make to be honest. I've been trying my hardest to come here and be part of this. All my friends are season ticket holders. All I want to do is just get out there."
The highly rated 23-year-old Bentley is considered to be the heir apparent to the English national team's right flank. But for now, he's battling for the position with that man who shares his initials -- David Beckham.
Tottenham manager Juande Ramos will be hoping Bentley can cause problems for other Premier League teams with his mazy runs down the wings and his ability to whip in the ball. But Bentley will be forgiven if he finds himself wondering who will be on the end of all his crosses.
Tottenham sold Robbie Keane to Liverpool for $40 million a few days ago and Dimitar Berbatov seems set on leaving for Manchester United, AC Milan or Barcelona.
That leaves only Darren Bent, who after a miserable campaign last year, has finally showed the promise that underlined his $33 million move from Charlton last year, scoring seven goals in his past two preseason matches.
With the capture of Bentley, Ramos appears to finally be addressing this issue of Spurs' attacking line. The Spaniard has been in contact with two of Russia's best players from its run to the Euro 2008 semifinals.
Zenit St. Petersburg attacking midfielder Andrei Arshavin is expected to make the move to White Hart Lane in the coming days.
His agent, Denis Lacter, told reporters, "Andrei likes the way Juande Ramos is going to play at Tottenham and this is the main point of our decision -- not only the money but the desire of the manager to have the player."
The proposed transfer fee for the 27-year-old Arshavin is believed to be worth around $40 million.
Negotiations with Spartak Moscow forward Roman Pavlyuchenko are not as far along, but the 26-year-old was seen in London last week. Tottenham has apparently agreed to a $30 million fee with Spartak Moscow and now need to work out a contract with the striker.
It has been a busy summer already for Ramos. Joining Bentley as newcomers to the squad are Luka Modric, Giovani dos Santos, Heurelho Gomes and John Bostock. Meanwhile, Keane, Paul Robinson, Steed Malbranque, Pascal Chimbonda and Teemu Tainio have all left the club.
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