NEW Sunderland striker Nicklas Bendtner believes regular first-team football at the Stadium of Light will help him fulfill his ambition of becoming the top goalscorer in the Premier League.

Bendtner swapped north London for Wearside on transfer deadline day after finding his opportunities at the Emirates Stadium become increasingly limited under Arsene Wenger.

In his time at Arsenal, Bendtner was never really regarded as an integral part of Wenger's plans, something the Danish international feels has held him back from fulfilling his potential.

Now the confident striker is set to get his wish of regular first-team action, and he believes that will help him achieve his ambitions, while helping Sunderland achieve theirs.

"I want to be a prolific goalscorer and scoring a goal a game is something I want to achieve.

"As a striker, it is important to score goals and one of my ambitions is to be the top scorer in the Premier League one day and to get there you need to do those sort of things. One day it is ambition and it would be for any striker in the Premier League.

"I just want to come here and play games and do well. I think I have come to a good team with good players and good staff and it is a team capable of achieving something big.

"I want to be part of it, so this is a great opportunity for me to get that run of games and hopefully do well.

"In any team, if you are in and out, it is difficult. We had the scenario last year at Manchester United, where Berbatov scored 20 goals, but he scored four in one game and five in another. He did really well but he didn't play regularly. In my career I haven't played 15 to 20 in a row apart from once and I score nine in 11 games."

One of the big reasons Bendtner chose to join Sunderland was his relationship with Black Cats manager Steve Bruce, who signed the then 18-year-old striker on loan while in charge at Birmingham City.

In his season at St Andrews, the big Dane helped the Blues clinch promotion back to the Premier League, and he hopes he can repay Bruce for the faith he has shown in him.

"He has been an important influence on my career and is a big reason why I came here," said Bendtner.

"When I went to Birmingham we had a great season, we got promoted and I still think that was one of my best seasons to date.

"I want to get that back and achieve the things we did there and to do really well in the league and from there progress."

Whether Bendtner remains on Wearside at the end of his season-long loan is still unclear. The 23-year-old admits he is keen to play Champions League football, but if he enjoys his spell at the Stadium of Light, Steve Bruce could be in a good position to persuade him to stay.

Having finished in the top ten last season, the Black Cats' ambitions this season will be to battle for a place in Europe. Although their early-season form hasn't suggested they will, Bendtner insists the squad he has joined is capable of achieving that.

He said: "My ambition is to play Champions League. I have said that from the start, so I want to achieve and strive for that, but you never know what happens in the future and being here is a great opportunity.

"I only really look one year ahead and I am going to spend the year here, I want to do well personally and the team to do well, and then take into consideration what is going to happen.

"That is one of the reasons I came here. This is a team which can be in the top six. I think there are six teams up there now and this is team just under them which could compete and play well in those games as well and I felt that ambition from the club."