Thread by @garius

Bergkamp was an absolute master. My favourite player of all time.

But one thing I will say: Unless you watched him play from the stands, you never saw one reason WHY he was so good:

He LOVED to shithouse defenders. /1

https://twitter.com/tomwfootball/status/1433034102865805315

You'd see it from the stands at Highbury. He'd spend whole games leaning in on his marker, giving them a little shove occasionally, giving them a wink or smile whenever he made a pass, shouting to the ref about them.

Nothing nasty. Just constant, low-grade tactical shithousing😁

And then the moment would come. Someone would ping a ball to him and you could almost HEAR the defender's thoughts. Their footballing brain would turn off, just for a second, and emotion would kick in.

"RIGHT. Got him."

And they'd go in on him.

And it was EXACTLY what he wanted. Because he knew how good his first touch was, both through talent, and pure bloody graft and training.

And by switching off their football brain for just one second the defender let him use that touch, his greatest weapon, against them.

And bosh.

He'd tap it round them, or float it over them, or dink it under them. He'd see the gap they'd inevitably created and use it.

And then he'd be away. And he'd have time and space to move and shoot. Or to ping it to the runner the defender SHOULD have covered.

GOOOOAL!

It was absolute magic to watch. Not as magic as the goals, obviously, but who doesn't like watching one of your own players winding up the opposition a bit? Especially when you knew what it led to. It was like a tasty appetiser.

Anyway. Just wanted to flag it as it's something you'll NEVER see on highlight vids or Sky Sports Live. It's why kids being able to watch top, top players play IN PERSON (and being able to afford to do so) is so critical.

On TV/YouTube you only see what happens on the ball.

And what makes players god-tier: the Bergkamps, the Henrys, the Ronaldos and the Messis, not just world-class-tier, is how they sweat the margins of the game. How they manage it. What they do out of position.

And yes.

How they shithouse.

In person, you see it. On cameras? Nope

So every time I see a clip of a Bergkamp goal, i sit back and enjoy it for what it will inevitably be. A moment of beauty.

But I also smile at the memory of all the work he'd do to quietly set himself up with that opportunity in the first place.

My #arsenal hero, forever.