Bergkamp agrees one-year deal to remain at Arsenal

DENNIS BERGKAMP will stay with Arsenal after agreeing a new one-year contract at Highbury.

The Dutch striker's previous contract expired at the end of last season and he had been linked with a move away from Arsenal, with Bolton manager Sam Allardyce recently admitting he failed in a bid to lure Bergkamp to the Reebok Stadium.

But Arsenal confirmed in a statement yesterday that Bergkamp has signed a new one-year deal with Arsene Wenger's side.

Bergkamp was delighted to have finally ended doubts over his future, and reiterated his desire to end his career at Highbury.

He said: "I'm so pleased to have signed a new contract. As I have always said, Arsenal is a fantastic club and it has always been my intention to end my career here. I'm delighted to be part of a great squad of players, which gives us a realistic chance of winning trophies again this year."

Bergkamp was also keen to praise Arsenal's handling of negotiations. He added: "I regret that confidential negotiations with the club have received adverse coverage and much has been exaggerated. The club has treated me in a fair and respectful manner throughout the negotiations."

Arsène Wenger added: "I have always said it is important to retain the players we already have here so it's great news that Dennis has committed himself to the club for another year. He has so much to offer. Dennis is a special talent with vast experience and that will certainly help us in our pursuit of honours."

Meanwhile, Damien Duff has met Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri over a possible move to Stamford Bridge.

Blackburn have accepted a £17million offer for the 24-year-old Republic of Ireland winger from the Stamford Bridge club.

Duff and his adviser Pat Devlin sat down with Ranieri on Saturday to talk things over, according to BBC Sport Online.

"We met Mr Ranieri on Saturday and things went well," Devlin said.

"It's down to Damien now no-one's going to pressurise him."

Devlin denied the player was holding out for a move to Manchester United, who have missed out on Barcelona-bound Ronaldinho.

"It's very simple he either stays at Blackburn or he goes to Chelsea. It's one or the other," he said.

"There's been no interest from Manchester United that I'm aware of. If there was I'm sure Blackburn would have alerted not only ourselves but Chelsea as well."

Blackburn finally agreed a fee from Chelsea on Thursday, after turning down their previous offers. Duff was due to fly out to America with Rovers only to abort the trip at the 11th hour.

Should Duff sign for Chelsea he will take Ranieri's spending to £30m since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took control.

Meanwhile, Alan Wright has joined Middlesbrough on their pre-season training camp in Spain. The full-back, released by Aston Villa at the end of last season, recently had a trial with Rangers but quit their training camp in Germany early, citing family reasons.

And Boro boss Steve McClaren appears to have made headway in his attempts to entice the 31-year-old to the Riverside by persuading him to travel to the Marpafut camp near Marbella.