Bergkamp has not yet decided how to replace the “excitement and passion” of football, although he does intend to return to his native Holland instead of remaining at Arsenal in another capacity.

The Dutchman recently added: “At the moment, I don’t think that management is likely.

“You have to focus on football 24 hours a day to be a successful manager, and if I go into something then I want to be good at it.

“Although I love my football, I love my freedom too. So I really don’t know what I will do at the moment. I’m still young and I want to do something else in life. I think it will be in Holland because we will move back there eventually.”

Wenger believes that 34-year-old Bergkamp should take a year out of the game to “test how much he misses it and take time to reflect and get things settled before making a decision”.

That was exactly what he advised Tony Adams. But while Steve Bould has returned to Arsenal in a coaching capacity, none of the other members of the famed back four have yet made a similar step.

Wenger added: “Dennis is a highly intelligent player, and football should not lose that kind of person. It’s important that his kind of vision, intelligence and analysis stay in football.

“But does he want the pressure of being in the spotlight and being questioned every three days? That is what he must decide for himself.

“Most of the time, the players who started very young at a high level do not want that. Dennis started at 17, so does he want that again for 20 years? That’s down to him.

“You can see in some players that the ingredients for a manager are there, but after that you need luck. All of the back four I had at Arsenal could be managers, but do they want it and will they get that opportunity at the right period?

“For me, the hunger was natural because I was not a big player and I was ready to show that I had some qualities as a manager.

“For the players who have seen it all, for them to go out and fight for every day in the wind, rain and snow is different.”