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Bergkamp determined to play on

Glenn Moore
Monday 23 February 2004 01:00 GMT
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Dennis Bergkamp will seek to complete a decade at Highbury by extending his contract by at least a year after being encouraged by his rejuvenation this season. The Dutch striker, who will be 35 in May, said he wished to continue at Arsenal after playing a leading part in Saturday's victory at Chelsea.

Bergkamp added that if Arsenal did not want him he would retire, but the club are expected to offer him a one-year extension at the end of this season. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said: "Sometimes you think a player is dead and he lives again. Dennis was outstanding at Chelsea. He also had a great game against them last week."

One of the first and most successful major foreign players to play in the Premiership, Bergkamp signed for £7m from Internazionale in 1995. He has made 341 appearances, scoring 107 goals.

"The way I feel now I don't want to stop," he said. "I feel great."The older you get, the fewer runs you can make. That's why it's fantastic for me to play with Thierry [Henry] because he does all the running."

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