Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp became a club legend throughout his 11 years with the Gunners. Bergkamp won three league titles and four FA Cups during his time at Highbury but was close to never signing for the club.
The Dutch forward had struggled during a short spell with Inter Milan and hoped that a move to Englan would revitalise his career. Instead of Arsenal, though, it was Chelsea that initially agreed a £7.5m fee for Bergkamp. The striker travelled to England with the intentions of signing for the Blues, who were then managed by Glenn Hoddle.
The agent who brokered Bergkamp’s move to Arsenal, Jerome Anderson, told talkSPORT : “Dennis’ hero as a young man growing up was Glenn Hoddle. As a young man he loved wearing the no.10 shirt, finally, having suffered a difficult time in Italy, he decided that he’d like to come and play in England.
“Dennis’ situation was this, he had agreed, and we had all agreed that he would sign for Chelsea and literally on the day of coming over with his wife, he wouldn’t fly anymore so he was driving,
“I got a call from [Chelsea’s] then-managing director Colin Hutchinson. He said we still want to sign Dennis but we don’t have the money. That was a real shock as we’d worked on the deal for a long time.”
Anderson, who was FIFA’s first licensed agent, responded by phoning Bergkamp’s Dutch representatives and suggesting Arsenal as another destination. This was agreed unbeknown to Bergkamp, who still believed he was set to sign for Chelsea.
“I put the phone down and called David Dein, I said, ‘Something’s happened today and you might have an incredible opportunity to sign a player who’s yet to reach his prime and is well known as a wonderful international player who had a difficult time in Italy. It’s Dennis Bergkamp’,” Anderson continued.
“He said, ‘We could be interested but the first thing you need to do is talk to the manager’. So I jumped in my car and drove round to Bruce Rioch and said, ‘Would you like to sign Dennis Bergkamp?’ He said, ‘Jerome, if we can sign Dennis Bergkamp I’d sign him tomorrow’.”
This conversation prompted Dein to hold an Arsenal board meeting at his house, where the club agreed to pay the fee that Inter had set for Chelsea. Bergkamp was caught off guard by the events but fortunately was convinced to sign for Arsenal, where he is honoured with a statue outside the Emirates Stadium.
“Dennis arrived and he was upset in the first instance because Glenn was his hero and he was looking forward to working with him,” Anderson admitted. “I said, ‘Look, if nothing else, please speak to Bruce, go to Highbury and have a look around the marbled walls and try to understand the history of what is a great, great club’.
“He agreed to that and thankfully he got on famously well with Mr Rioch, and the rest is history.”
Bergkamp made 423 appearances overall for Arsenal and the creative forward built a lasting legacy at the club. His memorable partnership with Thierry Henry helped the Gunners to win two league titles, including as part of the Invincibles side in the 2003/04 season.
