EVEN WHEN HE ROCKS THE BOAT, Dennis Bergkamp does so with the measured precision of a classic No 10 rather than Keane-like fury. But rock it he has done, nevertheless, by revealing his frustration at Arsenal’s troubled season and, above all, his dismay at the sale of Patrick Vieira.
The Dutchman will concede that there is a strong streak of self-interest in his argument because the club are planning for a future in which he will play no part, but while it may make him selfish, his impending retirement in May also allows him to be unusually candid. His last months in football already seem destined to be spent on the substitutes’ bench, so he talks without fear of reprisal.
A number of vexing issues are tossed around, but they all have their roots in one moment last July. Bergkamp was the first player contacted by Vieira when he realised that he was about to be sold, against his wishes, to Juventus. The Dutchman was incredulous and, even if the shock has long gone, the regret has yet to subside.
Had he told Arsène Wenger it was a big mistake? “That’s not really your place,” Bergkamp said. “But Arsène is intelligent enough to know what that did to the team. People saw how influential Patrick was on the pitch, dominating a midfield by himself. But people also forget how he was off the pitch, how impressive he was in the dressing room and how important he was for every other player, young and old. I think a lot of people underestimated that.
“When you hear he is going to be sold, you try to think of a team without him. And you have the confidence in the board and the coach that they have something in mind. You can’t just let Patrick go without having someone coming in. But that doesn’t happen. You respect Arsène for what he has done, that is for sure, but to tell you the truth, you thought something would happen and nothing did. So slowly you get into the new season and you realise this is going to be a tough one.”
It has been tougher, even, than he had imagined. “We didn’t expect the dip to be this big,” he said. “It is OK to take one step back and two steps forward but we are not really sure if it is just one step back at the moment. It seems more. Somehow we got into a transitional year and it wasn’t necessary.”
Strong words, and they carry the weight of almost 11 years’ experience. Wenger would retort that the club remain capable of finishing in fourth place in the Barclays Premiership, particularly after a soothing victory away to Birmingham City on Saturday, but what really irks Bergkamp is that feeling that this campaign did not have to be so traumatic.
He can understand the need to rebuild, and he acknowledges the youthful talent at Wenger’s disposal, but he firmly believes that the team could have evolved while still competing for trophies. Inevitably, the conversation drifts back to Vieira.
“People ask where you find the next Vieira but we had him,” Bergkamp said. “And you could imagine how much Abou Diaby could learn from playing next to Patrick. In some positions the team is lightweight, it is just not strong enough. Maybe that will come in the future but at the moment that kills us.”
Leadership is another issue that brings us back to you-know-who. “Every now and then you come across great leaders in your career and, in Tony Adams and Patrick, we were lucky to have two who overlapped,” Bergkamp said. “That posture, that ability to lead by example. Tony was the man. Patrick was the same but we didn’t have another one to come in.
“Thierry stepped in, but it can be difficult to be captain as a striker, a different mentality, and it will take longer to adapt. You have to create that, especially with Thierry. For Patrick it was natural.”
Arsenal’s dip and Bergkamp’s lack of playing time have raised the prospect of a flat conclusion to a career that has yielded three championship-winning medals, four FA Cups and made him one of the best players to grace the English game. There was a time in the spring and summer of 1998, when perhaps only Zinedine Zidane would have been ahead of him when it came to writing down the first names in a World XI.
“You try to think now was I really that good or were the others not so good as they are now?” Bergkamp said. “You see it of Thierry now. He can do whatever he wants and no one can touch him. I felt that. Give me the ball, I can change the game, I can make it happen.”
What Bergkamp would give to feel that one more time. “Give me the moment, boss,” he joked, although he has not been so good natured about it in private. He feels so removed from the team that he is not even thinking about the Champions League ties against Real Madrid and has no expectations of his last match being a dramatic finale.
“If the team is doing well and winning game after game, it would be very selfish to think only about myself,” he said. “But it isn’t. I come over frustrated because I am. I am not thinking about testimonials or a nice farewell. When I signed the contract last summer, I didn’t sign it as a help to the young players. To be frank, that is a load of rubbish. I am a player. I want to play. Otherwise you can ask me to coach.”
Bergkamp, it must be said, intersperses his complaints with flashes of self-deprecating humour. He takes his football very seriously, but, at 36, he also has the worldly wisdom to see the bigger picture.
He will happily acknowledge the ability of Francesc Fabregas, José Antonio Reyes, Theo Walcott and particularly Robin van Persie, whom he thinks could be the best of the bunch, but there is also a word of warning when it comes to Henry’s future.
“What would I do if I was Thierry? It is difficult for me to say because I am in a down position and he is playing every week,” Bergkamp said. “He can probably see the talent in the young players but it is just a question of how long he thinks he has left. He needs to see some signs.”
By next season, Bergkamp will have signed off with a testimonial, the first game at the new Emirates Stadium, in July. He is hoping that Ajax will accept his invitation and there may be some special guests, including Adams and Marco van Basten.
Bergkamp is very keen that someone else should appear and, yes, it is his old friend Vieira. “It wasn’t Patrick’s idea to leave and he never had the chance to say goodbye,” he said. Even belatedly, that is something that Bergkamp is keen to rectify.
