With the news this week that Dennis Bergkamp will have a statue built in his honour outside of Arsenal’s Emirates stadium, I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to remember one of the Dutchman’s finest moments.
The statue is undoubtedly deserved as Bergkamp is an Arsenal legend but also a true master of the game. Everything Bergkamp did on the football pitch oozed class and he was an essential part of Arsenal’s successful period.
It seemed that Bergkamp was incapable of scoring a dull goal and there are many to pick from when deeming what could be his best of a brilliant career.
The mesmerizing piece of skill against Newcastle is an obvious choice but I have gone for his goal against Argentina during the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup.
With the score at 1-1 and the game heading for extra-time, Berkgamp plucked Frank de Boer’s pass from high out of the air with one of the sweetest first touches you have ever seen, rounded the defender and finished past the keeper with the outside of his boot. Pure brilliance.
You can see in his celebration that he knows he has scored a goal of supreme quality and I question you whether you have seen a player with a better first touch than Bergkamp’s? Nope, didn’t think so.