Bergkamp backs Arsenal to succeed
Bergkamp backs Arsenal to succeed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/5201458.stm
By Charlie Henderson
BBC Sport at Emirates Stadium
Dennis Bergkamp believes the future of Arsenal is in more than capable
hands as he calls time on his career.
The Dutchman, 37, is retiring after 11 seasons with the Gunners but expects
his former team-mates to challenge Chelsea for the Premiership title.
"Last year gave a lot of teams some confidence because Chelsea dropped some
points," Bergkamp told BBC Sport.
"Liverpool and Manchester United and us will be up there, there is more of
a chance for the other teams this year."
For the last two years Chelsea have raced away with the title, but Bergkamp
says rivals should not be overawed by their spending power.
The Blues have gone out and added, amongst others, Andriy Shevchenko and
Michael Ballack to their squad.
In comparison, Arsenal's summer spending has been limited to the ￡6.8m
outlay on Czech Republic international Tomas Rosicky.
"You can have six world-class strikers but you can only play two, maybe
three," Bergkamp added.
"If you have a strong team with a solid defence, which is what Arsenal
have worked on in the last two seasons, there are always players in this
team that can make the difference, score goals and win games for you.
"I'm sure we'll challenge for every title."
And Bergkamp feels Arsenal can take great confidence from reaching the
Champions League final last season which capped a campaign in which Arsene
Wenger blooded a host of young players.
The Gunners pipped north London rivals Tottenham to the fourth Champions
League spot before narrowly losing the final of that competition to
Barcelona after seeing Jens Lehmann sent off.
Bergkamp considers it crucial to carry over the momentum they built up at
the end of last season.
"From us being favourites two years ago it's different now, and maybe we
are not favourites anymore," he said.
"But I feel with this team, every year, is getting stronger and stronger,
they are more experienced and many of them played in the World Cup, and
if they can bring that to this team I really think they can challenge.
"Last season our Champions League run gave us a lot of confidence and at
times we took that into the league.
"And with a good pre-season and a good start they can build on that and
keep it going again. It's not that long ago they were at the top, they
have the experience, it's not new to them."
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