Bergkamp to end playing career at Highbury
Arsenal completed a £3m gamble on Dennis Bergkamp when the Dutch star finally signed a new two-year contract which will keep him at Highbury for the rest of his career.
It means Bergkamp will have been an Arsenal player for eight years by the time the new deal expires in June 2003.
The striker admitted: "I'm delighted that it is all settled. This will almost certainly be my last contract as a player."
There has been intense speculation that Bergkamp planned to wind down an illustrious career in his native Holland after a long delay in him putting pen to paper.
But Bergkamp said: "I have to say sorry to the fans for it taking so long, but I wanted to make sure that the final details were absolutely right."
Bergkamp explained on his personal website: "If you don't know about players' contracts, I can tell you they are about seven pages long including ones that have to go to the Premier League and the PFA (players' union) and everything has to be correctly drawn up.
"When you sign them it feels like an autograph-signing session.
"But I love it in England, especially at Arsenal and I have become almost like a fan of the club. It is great to feel wanted and without wishing to sound too melodramatic it is quite moving for me when people come up and say that I am.
"I've never had any desire to leave. I've been here nearly six years and my family are really settled but that's not the most important reason I'm staying. I still want to achieve things with the club and I still feel there is a lot more to come from us as a team."
