Dennis Bergkamp at Arsenal: the creator of the Invincibles

Dennis Bergkamp at Arsenal produced 423 appearances and 120 goals across 11 seasons, yet the image that sums him up is not a goal at all. It is a first touch against Newcastle United in 2002, the pirouette that took him past Nikos Dabizas, and a finish that BBC Sport readers later voted the greatest in Premier League history. Bergkamp is Arsenal's idea of the beautiful game made flesh: a striker who created more than he scored, and whose best season had almost nothing to do with the Invincibles.

The argument here runs against the obvious answer to the question of his best year. Most people would pick 2003/04, because that team never lost. The better case is 1997/98: the league and FA Cup double, 22 goals as the club's top scorer, the PFA and FWA player of the year awards, and a league record that says more about him than any trophy, 87 goals against 94 assists in 315 Premier League appearances. Bergkamp peaked when he had to carry the attack, not when Thierry Henry arrived and made scoring look easy.

Dennis Bergkamp at Arsenal: the signing that changed the club's idea of a forward

Bergkamp was born on 10 May 1969 in Amsterdam and came through the Ajax academy, winning the UEFA Cup in 1992 and finishing as the joint top scorer at Euro 1992. He was already a world-level forward before England saw him. Bruce Rioch broke Arsenal's transfer record to pay 7.5 million pounds to Inter Milan in the summer of 1995, ending a difficult spell in Italy, and the move proved the first signing of a new Arsenal.

His first few weeks gave no hint of what was coming. Pundits wondered whether the club had bought a bust, until a brace against Southampton in late September 1995 turned the corner. Over 11 seasons he made 423 appearances and scored 120 goals, and in the Premier League his numbers read 315 games, 87 goals and 94 assists: a forward with more assists than goals, which was the point of him. Arsenal had never had a player who saw the game this way.

1997/98: the double season that was Bergkamp's true peak

The 1997/98 season is where the argument lives. Bergkamp scored a hat-trick at Leicester City in August 1997 that Martin O'Neill called the best he had ever seen, and he finished the campaign as Arsenal's top scorer with 22 goals as the team overhauled defending champions Manchester United. The charge included a then-record run of nine straight wins, a streak the Ferguson side chasing the title never matched, and the championship arrived with 78 points, a table you can check against every other winner in our guide to the Premier League title winners. The 1998 FA Cup final followed on 16 May 1998, a 2-0 win over Newcastle United at Wembley with Ray Parlour named man of the match.

Bergkamp was not on the pitch for that final. He pulled a hamstring against Derby County in late April 1998 and missed the entire run-in, but the double season still earned him the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, only the third non-British player to win it, plus the FWA Footballer of the Year award. That is the definition of a peak: the team's top scorer, the league's best player, and a double won while he watched the last three weeks from the stands.

A creator's numbers: 87 goals and 94 assists

The 1998/99 season showed the balance of his game: 16 goals in all competitions and a league-leading 13 assists shared with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, as Arsenal lost the title on the final day to Manchester United. That spring also produced the moment that created his penalty phobia: an injury-time spot kick saved by Peter Schmeichel in the FA Cup semi-final replay, after which Bergkamp never took another penalty in his career.

His creation kept outranking his scoring. In 1996/97, his first full season under Arsene Wenger, he was named Arsenal Player of the Season. The league titles kept coming: 2001/02, the double year won on 87 points with Chelsea second on 78, part of a Wenger era that took three league titles in the Bergkamp years, 1997/98, 2001/02 and 2003/04, with the FA Cup added in 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2005. The wider story sits in our guide to Wenger's Arsenal revolution; this article is about the man who made the football possible.

The Newcastle goal, the Invincibles and the Non-Flying Dutchman

On 2 March 2002, in a title battle at St James' Park, Bergkamp scored after 11 minutes to set up a priceless 2-0 win over Newcastle United. The goal was the pass and the pirouette: he killed the ball with his first touch, turned Dabizas, and finished past Shay Given. In August 2017, marking the Premier League's 25th season, BBC Sport readers voted it the best goal in the competition's history with 31 per cent of the vote, just ahead of Tony Yeboah's strike for Leeds United against Wimbledon in 1995, and Arsenal's own fans voted it the club's greatest goal in the Gunners' Greatest 50 countdown.

In 2003/04 the Invincibles went the entire season unbeaten, winning the title on 90 points, 11 clear of Chelsea, with 26 wins and 12 draws, while Bergkamp contributed 4 goals and 7 assists in 28 league games. The title was Henry's season: 30 league goals, the division's top scorer and the Player of the Season. Bergkamp's role was the pass, right down to the final game on 15 May 2004, when his assist set up Patrick Vieira's winner against Leicester City. The famous 49-game unbeaten run, from 7 May 2003 to 24 October 2004, broke Nottingham Forest's 42 and is told in full in our guides to the Invincibles and Arsene Wenger's Invincibles, while Thierry Henry at Arsenal covers the scorer Bergkamp made.

The Non-Flying Dutchman and the statue

One quirk shaped his career. Bergkamp stopped flying after the 1994 World Cup because of a fear of flying, earning the nickname the Non-Flying Dutchman and limiting which European away games he could play. It did not stop him scoring an injury-time winner against Thun in the 2005/06 Champions League after coming on as a substitute, nor reaching the 2006 final, where Arsenal lost 2-1 to Barcelona. His farewell was Bergkamp Day on 15 April 2006, when the full stadium wore orange DB10 T-shirts, his initials and squad number in the colours of the Netherlands.

Arsenal's statues outside the Emirates went up from December 2011, and Bergkamp's likeness became the fourth on 22 February 2014, showing him in action at Newcastle and commemorating the 423 appearances and 120 goals of an 11-year career. He retired in 2006 with three league titles, four FA Cups and a place in the club's iconography that no later arrival has dislodged.

FAQ

How many goals did Dennis Bergkamp score for Arsenal?

120 goals in 423 appearances across 11 seasons. In the Premier League he scored 87 goals in 315 games, with 94 assists, meaning he created more goals than he scored.

Why is Bergkamp's Newcastle goal so famous?

Scored on 2 March 2002, it featured a first touch that took him past Nikos Dabizas and a finish past Shay Given. In 2017 BBC Sport readers voted it the greatest goal in Premier League history with 31 per cent of the vote, ahead of Tony Yeboah's 1995 strike for Leeds.

What was Bergkamp's best season at Arsenal?

This article argues it was 1997/98: the double, 22 goals as the club's top scorer, and both the PFA and FWA player of the year awards. The 2003/04 Invincibles title was the team's achievement more than his, with 4 league goals.

Did Bergkamp play in the 1998 FA Cup final?

No. He pulled a hamstring against Derby County in late April 1998 and missed the run-in, including the 2-0 final win over Newcastle United.

Why was Bergkamp called the Non-Flying Dutchman?

A fear of flying dating from after the 1994 World Cup meant he never flew, which dictated which European away games he could play for Arsenal.

Key takeaways

• Dennis Bergkamp at Arsenal: 423 appearances and 120 goals over 11 seasons, with 87 goals and 94 assists in 315 Premier League games.
• The 1997/98 double season was his true peak: 22 goals, top scorer, and PFA and FWA player of the year awards.
• His Newcastle goal on 2 March 2002 was voted the greatest in Premier League history by BBC Sport readers in 2017, with 31 per cent of the vote.
• In 2003/04 the Invincibles title was carried by Henry's 30 league goals; Bergkamp contributed 4 goals and 7 assists in 28 games.
• A statue unveiled on 22 February 2014 outside the Emirates commemorates an 11-year career as one of the club's four greats.

Conclusion

Dennis Bergkamp at Arsenal lasted 11 seasons, produced 423 appearances and 120 goals, and changed what the club expected from a striker. The Invincibles are his best-known team, but the double season of 1997/98 is his peak, 22 goals and player of the year awards in a side he carried; the 87 goals and 94 assists across 315 Premier League games explain why a forward with more assists than goals became the club's icon. The Newcastle goal remains the defining moment, and the statue outside the Emirates keeps the memory company. Arsenal have had greater scorers since, through Henry and beyond. They have never had a greater creator.