Arsene Wenger was always confident Nicklas Bendtner had what it takes to make a big impact at Arsenal.
The Denmark striker is expected to shake off an ankle problem to lead the attack at Birmingham, where he had a loan spell for the 2006/07 season.
During that campaign, Bendtner, now 22, netted 13 goals as the Blues secured automatic promotion back to the top flight.
Wenger feels the 6ft 3in forward returned from St Andrew's wiser and has since come a long way in a short time.
Wenger said: "I saw Nicklas Bendtner in the reserves and he had an impact in the games, but you felt as well that he needed to go somewhere to toughen up.
"There is no better place in the world than the Championship to give a player a realistic view of how hard this job is."
Following the long-term ankle injury to Robin van Persie, who could yet return to play some part before the end of the campaign, Arsenal have looked to Bendtner to provide some presence in attack.
