ARSENAL have tried to offload Dennis Bergkamp to Fulham in a cut-price pounds 2million move.
Manager Arsene Wenger agreed the fee with fellow Frenchman Jean Tigana and the club thrashed out personal terms with the player's advisers.
The move collapsed only at the last minute when Bergkamp insisted he wanted to stay at Highbury and fight for his place.
He underlined the point with two goals after coming on as a sub in Arsenal's 4-0 win at Middlesbrough yesterday.
Tigana had made the Dutchman his No.1 summer target and made moves for West Ham's Frederic Kanoute and Bergkamp's Arsenal team-mate Kanu only when he failed to capture the 32-year-old.
Yet the news will shock Arsenal fans coming just months after Bergkamp had committed his remaining days to the North London giants by signing a new two-year contract.
And it almost certainly leaves Bergkamp's future in doubt knowing Arsenal were happy to balance the books by showing him the door after a free-spending summer in the transfer market.
He had threatened to quit the club after accusing them of lacking respect when he failed to command a regular place last season.
Bergkamp is also believed to be furious that the club have tried to cash in on him at his expense.
The news is bound to alert Tottenham, Chelsea and Aston Villa, who have all been linked with Bergkamp over the last nine months.
Meanwhile Fulham have widened the search for a striker and have drawn up a short-list that includes Manchester United's Andy Cole, Kanu and West Ham's French marksman Kanoute.
Source Sunday Mirror