Dennis Bergkamp signing 30 years on...

It was the 30th anniversary of the signing of Dennis Bergkamp the other day, and there is a good argument to saying he was the best signing we have ever made.

1995 was a turbulent time for Arsenal Football Club. Long serving and extremely successful manager George Graham had departed under a dark cloud and the 94/95 season ended with a Cup Winners Cup final defeat. Bruce Rioch was eventually the man brought in to replace Graham - despite David Dein preferring a French man in Japan!

The team had developed from the vibrant, youthful team of Grahams early years into a much more pragmatic "cup" team. While Paul Merson still excited on the pitch, his off-field issues had caught up with him at the end of 94 and he missed the opening months of 1995. That left Ian Wright as the only real spark in the team, with a workmanlike midfield of players like John Jensen, Stefan Schwarz and youngsters Steve Morrow, David Hillier and Ian Selley.

We finished 12th in the PL in 94/95, a season that had us flirting with the relegation zone which had been extended to 4 teams. Just 6 points separated us and Crystal Palace - who went down.

Foreign players in the PL were still a small minority in 1995. With Schwarz leaving that summer, Jensen and Glenn Helder - the crazy Dutch winger - were our foreign representatives. Also that summer we saw Kevin Campbell leave and Alan Smith retire.

Considering the reason behind Graham's departure, David Dein took control of transfers. Bruce Rioch was given the task of providing a more attacking, pleasing on the eye, team. To allow him to achieve that Dein gifted him Dennis Bergkamp.

Bergkamp came up through the Ajax academy, and became a star man for the Dutch giants. He won the Cup Winners Cup in 87, Eredivisie in 90 and the UEFA Cup in 92. His final 3 seasons at Ajax saw him score 89 goals in 120 games. This led to a move to Inter Milan and a successful debut season in Italy. He scored 18 times, including 8 in another UEFA Cup win for DB10. However, Serie A form of the club led to 3 managers in a short space of time. Bergkamps second season wasn't as great and he became less important to the club.

This allowed Arsenal to make their move and bring Bergkamp to Highbury. He was the catalyst for change in style, but it wasn't immediate impact. With a hint of xenophobia still hanging around English football, many took a dig at the signing of the 'fancy dan foreigner'. Stuart Pearce famously stating Liverpool got a better deal with signing Stan Collymore for a million more... Bergkamps start to life in the PL didn't quiet the noise, but 2 goals against Southampton soon started the u-turn in opinion.

16 goals in his debut season, and helping Arsenal back in Europe, it was a good start. However, behind the scenes troubles between the manager and Bergkamps strike partner Wright, were constantly bubbling. Rioch wouldn't get a second season and Dein got his man from Japan and the rest is history!!

Jurgen Klinsmann, the season before Bergkamp arrived, had set the standard for foreign imports. His impact was short - he stayed at Spurs just one season. Eric Cantona, of course, made big waves at Leeds and then Man Utd. His arrival was via Sheffield Wednesday though.

There were 11 other Dutch players in the PL in the 95/96 season. Ruud Guillit being the biggest name, but he was nearing the end of his career. Ken Monkou, Bryan Roy and our own Glenn Helder among the others. The Netherlands were the most represented non-British Isles country. Interestingly there were only 3 French players (Cantona, David Ginola and another Man Utd man William Prunier). There were still under 100 non-British Isles players registered with PL clubs (including those, like Robbie Earle, who were born and bred in England but chose to play for Jamaica late in their career).


Bergkamp stayed at Arsenal for 11 years, retiring in 2006. His testimonial and retirement game was the official opening of the Emirates Stadium. He won the Premier League 3 times with us, also winning 3 FA Cups. Of course, his biggest disappointment came in his last competitive game. The 2006 Champions League final saw him sat on the bench - and any real chance of him coming on was extinguished with the early red card and us leading for 75 minutes. Reyes was the choice when we had to chase the game as our final sub option.


Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry followed Dennis to Highbury and had massive impacts on the club, but it is hard to argue that the impact Bergkamp had on the club as a whole makes him our greatest signing ever.

30 years on, let's hope we can find a player to have the same impact!