Bergkamp: Arsenal need some bulldog spirit if they want to land trophies



Dennis Bergkamp believes Arsenal need to rediscover some English mentality if they are to finally end their trophy drought.



It's been seven years since the Gunners last tasted success with the legendary Dutchman part of the club's 2005 FA Cup victory parade.



But manager Arsene Wenger has failed to add to the club's trophy cabinet since and Bergkamp, who is now assistant boss at Dutch giants Ajax, says it's time the Frenchman instilled some bulldog spirit in his squad.



Wait goes on: Arsene Wenger hopes his current crop of players can end the club's seven-year trophy drought

'I feel there are a lot of similar players there at the moment,' said Bergkamp, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.



'It needs to be more diverse.



'You need a few strong characters who can get the team going, in training as well as matches.



'I don’t know if the English mentality is missing a little bit.



'We had it with the back four, of course, who had the mentality of thinking, "OK, this game is ours now."



'Sometimes I see their games and it’s always the same way of playing, a bit too predictable.



'They are all fantastic players, that must be said, but sometimes you need a bit more of the other side.'



As Bergkamp prepares his Ajax side for Thursday's Europa League clash with Manchester United, Arsenal are in Milan for the first leg of the Champions League knockout tie against AC.



Dutch of class: Gunners legend Bergkamp now coaches for Ajax

The 42-year-old, who scored 120 goals for Arsenal in over 400 games, is worried though that star striker Robin van Persie is not getting enough help when it comes to adding to the goal tally.



'You also need a few players who can make a difference in terms of scoring goals,' he added. 'I don’t feel there are enough of them.



'You look at the midfield and compare it with ours.



'We had Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires, Ray Parlour – when it wasn’t working for one of the big names, one of these could step up.



'You can’t only depend on one or two players. When they’re having an off day, you need someone else.'



Silver lining: Bergkamp was past of Arsenal's last trophy success

Wenger is worried that defeat to AC Milan over two legs in Europe could turn the heat up on him. But Bergkamp has warned the Gunners that there is no better person than his former boss to lead the club.

'He can’t just let go,' Bergkamp said. 'He would think he hasn’t finished there yet.



'He would want to finish on a high or at least do something that makes the team successful again.



'So I think he will wait and push as hard as possible to achieve that before he leaves.



'I’ve worked with Arsène for 11 years and it goes up and down.



'You do well, then you need some time to rebuild, then you do well again. But the thing now is that he isn’t winning any trophies.

'That’s what I was talking about earlier. Sometimes you just need to win something by showing a certain attitude to get the team going again.



'That isn’t happening at the moment so it is a bit of a struggle.



'But I wouldn’t say that’s down to Wenger because he has been fantastic and he still is fantastic for the club.

