History

GGG4: Bergkamp v Leicester City, 1997

It's time to reveal the Gunners' Greatest 50 Goals - as voted for by Arsenal's fans.

It's no surprise to see Dennis Bergkamp make an appearance this high up in our Gunners' Greatest Goals poll. It's the fifth time the Dutch master has cropped up in the countdown and, even by Bergkamp's soaring standards, this strike was a bit special.



In the inauspicious surroundings of Filbert Street on a Wednesday night in late summer, Bergkamp was untouchable. He single-handedly put Leicester to the sword with a magnificent hat-trick but, incredibly, did not end up on the winning side.



Bergkamp's opener was excellent enough - a curling shot into the top corner. But the goal which rounded off his hat-trick took the breath away. The 90 minutes were almost up when David Platt spotted Bergkamp's darting run into the left-hand side of the box and lofted a perfect pass into the Dutchman's path.



What happened next will stick long in the memory.

Bergkamp killed the ball in an instant with a feather-like first touch and then flicked it back past his marker, Matt Elliott, with his left foot. While the Leicester defender floundered, Bergkamp placed the ball into the top corner past a helpless Kasey Keller. It was a moment of pure genius.

The Dutchman still rates that goal as his finest in an Arsenal shirt. Speaking before his testimonial in July 2006, Bergkamp explained why.



"My favourite would be the hat-trick goal against Leicester because when you play football you have certain things in your mind which you want to achieve, and this was like that," he said.



"In my mind I knew I wanted to do it like that and it worked exactly as I had planned it just two seconds before. With these sorts of goals there is a lot of skill involved and it has to come together."

 

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