Dennis Bergkamp is one of the greatest footballers to ever play for Arsenal and in the Premier League.
Rescued from a disappointing spell at Inter for £7.5m back in 1995, the Dutch star would go on to win three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and also lift the PFA Players' Player of the Year award on one occasion thanks to his wonderful technique and killer instinct in front of goal.
After 11 seasons in north London, Bergkamp hung up his boots in 2006. His retirement was commemorated with a testimonial reuniting many former teammates at the then-newly built Emirates Stadium - a game in which Arsenal beat Ajax, his boyhood team and first professional club, 2-1.
In the programme for the game, Wenger took the time to write some words about Berkgamp to sum up his wonderful stint at the Gunners.
Arsene Wenger on Dennis Bergkamp
I was very lucky to find Dennis Bergkamp already in the squad when I arrived at Arsenal. You do not find a player like that everywhere you go. It was a blessing, a gift when I arrived. I knew of his class before I arrived of course. I remember playing against Inter as manager of Monaco when he was there, and I saw him as a young player at Ajax too, but you only really find out about a player when you work with him every day.
A lot has been said about Dennis over the years; about his class, about his intelligence – his remarkable intelligence - about his vision, basically you can never say enough about the player. The one thing which is a real example for youngsters is that Dennis - and I have worked with him for 10 years - did not lose his concentration or dedication for one minute until the last minute of his final training session. For me that is more remarkable than anything else.
He got the talent when he was born, and then developed it, but what I respect more was that every single day of his career, for 20 years, until the last minute, he never made a pass in training without thinking about it, or without putting every part of his brain into it.
That’s something that I consider virtually impossible to do, such is the level of dedication needed, but he did it, and that’s what made him not only a super-talented player, but a remarkable player who always had 100 per cent concentration throughout every session.
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That is a dream for a manager because I have seen many talented players, and some average players, give only 50 per cent concentration in training.
In England you have a phrase that Dennis was always a pleasure to watch. Well let me tell you that behind that pleasure for the viewer, was a great deal of dedication and hard work from Dennis.
When you have a player like that as a coach, you do not tell him how to play football, you just try to fit him into the team in the way which allows him to express his talent to the maximum potential.
He was a striker, yet not a striker – a midfielder yet not a midfielder, so I always felt second striker was his natural position. He was at ease there, he knew when to drop off and he could just smell out the game. As well as talent, he had super, super intelligence.
His role in the team changed over the years. When I first arrived he was a goalscorer, and obsessed by scoring like may forwards are, but slowly he became more obsessed by the team and by how much he can provide.
He understood he could score less but help the team score more. But he still loved to score goals, and great goals too. I think my favourite would probably be against Leicester at Filbert Street, his third in a fantastic hat-trick. It was something exceptional.
You will see today the respect he had within the game, because I think every player who played with him would love to be involved today. The players that will be playing in this game think a lot of Dennis, they respect him so much as a player and he was a joy to play with.
I hope Dennis enjoys the occasion, just as much as I have enjoyed working with him, and I’m sure you have enjoyed watching him, over the past decade.
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This article was originally published on 90min as What Arsene Wenger said about Dennis Bergkamp at 2006 testimonial.
