Today, we will be taking a look at the legend, the icon, the role model and the footballing phenom: Dubbed the “Iceman”, the one, the only, Dennis Bergkamp.
Described as a “dream for a striker” by teammate Thierry Henry and as having “the finest technique of any Dutch international” by Jan Mulder, Bergkamp is one of the biggest legends of the game. He’s scored an infinite number of splendid goals in his career, his technique is arguably one of the best ever, and it’s difficult to put into words how good his vision was.
Bergkamp, as described by Wenger, was “a gift, a blessing” and his arrival to north London changed Arsenal forever. He was a revelation, the perfect footballer and Arsenal were more than lucky to have him.
But Bergkamp was not always “the complete footballer”. He had a slow start to his first English campaign, going goalless for the first seven major games. Tabloid media slammed the Dutchman and labelled him “Hartle-Fool” after his constant failures of scoring, even against modest teams. A week after, Bergkamp responded to his critics when he scored a brace at home against Southampton. And ever since that moment, the Iceman was born.
Let’s take a look at his numbers: He is Arsenal’s 10th highest goalscorer with 120 goals to his name. And those weren’t your average efforts… The goal against Newcastle, the lob against Leverkusen, the stunner against Bolton: Dennis Bergkamp was just too good to be true.
Like wine, the Dutchman got even better with age. After helping the Gunners to a double win in the 2001/02 campaign, Bergkamp was at it again. The Dutchman played a very important role in Arsenal’s “Invincibles” season, having set up the winner in the final game of the season against Leicester City with a pass to captain at that time Patrick Vieira.
But eventually, everything comes to an end and Bergkamp hung up his boots after 11 exceptional years at Arsenal, where he helped the club to three Premier League titles and four FA Cup trophies – and thus he was honoured. Massively. In September 2007, Dennis Bergkamp became the first Dutchman to be inducted in the National football Museum Hall of Fame. He’s also been awarded a bronze statue outside of the Emirates Stadium glorifying his unforgettable moments as a Gunner.
