Extra Time: Arsenal statue on the way for Bergkamp?

28/02/2013 4:50:00 AM

Images released on Twitter show the production of a statue of the Dutch legend who could join Thierry Henry and Tony Adams outside the north London club's stadium

Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp is set to become the next Gunners icon to be immortalised with his own statue outside the Emirates Stadium.

Images have emerged on Twitter showing a statue of the former Netherlands striker gracefully trapping a ball in mid-air against Newcastle in 2003 – though given his notorious fear of flying, the airborne pose could make the Dutchman a little nauseous.

There are already three statues dotted around the Emirates Stadium concourse, capturing record goalscorer Thierry Henry, manager Herbert Chapman and former captain Tony Adams – all built as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations.

Bergkamp was an instant fans' favourite upon signing for the north London club for €11.25 million from Inter in 1995, winning the Premier League three times and lifting the FA Cup on four occasions.

Also part of the 2003-04 'Invincibles' team, Bergkamp scored 87 league goals in 11 seasons with the Gunners – as such, Marouane Chamakh is just 79 goals shy of earning his own Emirates statue, which, at his current scoring rate, means he will not reach that figure until 2054.

The statue is not expected to be unveiled until later this year, possibly in time for the start of next season, and though Arsenal remain coy on the subject, they confirmed that the image was genuine.

"We're not confirming anything at this stage," a Gunners spokesman told Goal.com.

"The image is obviously out there and there are wheels in motion to explore the possibility, but in terms of arranging anything definitely over when and where something might happen, it's still early days.

"At the moment it is in exploratory stages. We've had a lot of good feedback about various statues around the stadium, such as Thierry Henry, Tony Adams and the like. At the moment we're just exploring possible additional developments to those.

"The images are genuine, but we do not have any concrete information on when and where that might be happening."

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