Arteta gets chance to land new Bergkamp 28 years after Arsenal legend signed
Twenty-eight years ago today, Arsenal signed Dennis Bergkamp from Inter Milan for a club record fee and Mikel Arteta is now hoping to sign a similar player in the form of Kai Havertz.
After he joined the Gunners in 1995, manager Bruce Rioch hailed Bergkamp as a "world-class player with wonderful ability, technically excellent and an individual capable of applying his considerable ability to the benefit of the team". And his assessment certainly proved accurate.
After making the switch, Bergkamp made a total of 423 appearances for Arsenal and netted 120 goals as he helped them win three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and reach a Champions League final. He was also notably part of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' side and formed a superb partnership with Thierry Henry, who branded Bergkamp the greatest player he ever played with.
"He was always doing what the game was asking him to do," Henry said. "I admired how Dennis was always trying to respect the game. He could score, but he could also pass and wait for the right moment. ... He was always trying to respect the game when he could do other stuff."
He has gone down in history as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and was extremely versatile, flourishing in every attacking role he played. Bergkamp retired from football in 2006 after spending 11 seasons at Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger paying a touching tribute to the forward.
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"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," Wenger said after Bergkamp's final Arsenal appearance. "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."
Arsenal have struggled to replace Bergkamp in the years since his retirement, but current Gunners boss Arteta is looking to sign someone who could fill his boots in Havertz. The Germany international has earned comparisons to Bergkamp from his former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel.
Arsenal target Kai Havertz has earned comparisons to Bergkamp ((Photo by Harriet Lander - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images))"I see a bit of Dennis Bergkamp, Robin Van Persie, [Dimitar] Berbatov kind of player," he said last year. "He can play in the half position because he has good runs, but also feels free from the nine and creates overload to one side.
"When I watched him at Leverkusen, I didn't know that I would coach him, when I watched him at Paris [Saint-Germain], they made him play as a nine which was very interesting. I remember when I watched a cup final against Bayern [Munich] with my staff and said, 'This could be a good role for him'."
Arsenal legend Paul Merson, who was a teammate of Bergkamp's during his time in North London, has also likened Havertz to the Dutchman. "I look at him as a Dennis Bergkamp kind of player," Merson wrote in a column for the Daily Star last year. "He doesn't need the ball with his back to goal. He's too good for that. He needs the ball facing towards goal and he will make things happen."
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