ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB OFFICIAL PROGRAMME
massive player for Holland,
their key striker, and my first
memory of him internationally
wasn't a very good one for me. I
made my France debut in 1997
against Holland at the Pare de
Princes. I started the game and
within three minutes the score
was France o, Holland 1
(Bergkamp) - thankfully we
won in the end! It will be nice
to see some of his legendary
Holland team-mates at the new
stadium in the legends game
today.
Like I said he made a fantastic
contribution to Arsenal Football
Club and I think the fans and
the Club really appreciated his
loyalty. The Club has made such
progress since 1995 and Dennis
is a big reason for that, Arsenal
never seemed to look back after
he arrived. I think he must be
one of the longest serving
foreign players ever to play in
England and he has made a
huge contribution to the history
of the Premiership, not just
Arsenal. I think it's really good
that someone so important in
the history of the Club gets the
chance to open the new
stadium; it's perfect.
Finally, I remember when I first
joined Arsenal in 1996 and I
was surprised at how quiet
Dennis was, he seemed almost
shy and kept himself to himself.
But after a while I got to know
Dennis and realised that he just
likes people to think he's quiet,
really he's a very, very funny
guy who made me laugh so
many times when we were at
Arsenal. And I'm sure Dennis
will be smiting today when so
many of the people who love
him so much get their chance to
thank him for a magnificent
career at Arsenal.
WALKING ALONG, SINGING A SONG, WALKING IN A BERGKAMP WONDERLAND."
