Dennis Bergkamp believes that Arsenal are forcing him out of the club after eight glorious years with the Gunners.

Bergkamp played in 28 Premier League matches last season but that has not meant a thing, according to his agent Rob Jansen.

The Dutch player's agent is raving mad at Arsenal because of the way they are now treating the man who has turned the entire club around since arriving in 1995.

Jansen had a meeting with vice-chairman David Dein in March this year and was promised that Bergkamp would receive a very interesting new contract.

But the club changed their mind and never faxed or rang the agent until 48 hours ago.

Bergkamp's unrest comes as skipper Patrick Vieira committed himself to the club by signing a new £11million deal.

Vieira said: "The next three years will be very important and I'm happy to be part of it all."

Meanwhile, an angry Jansen said last night that Bergkamp is now seriously thinking about quitting professional football, because he does not want to play for any other club after Arsenal. And he insists that would be a shameful end to Bergkamp's career.

Jansen said: "I can't understand Arsenal doing this to a player like Bergkamp. Arsenal said in March that they wanted Dennis to play for them at least one more year.

"But we never heard anything after that. Dennis knows that the financial position of clubs, including Arsenal, is less strong than a few years ago. That's why he was ready to accept a different contract. But what is happening now is a joke. For a club of their calibre they are showing disgraceful behaviour."

He added: "Dennis is happy to accept different terms. I know that clubs across the whole football world no longer have the financial strength they had before. But the financial position of a club like Arsenal should not affect the manners of the people who are running the club. What is happening to Dennis Bergkamp is a total disgrace."

A senior figure inside Highbury claimed negotiations with Bergkamp were still going on - and denied any chance of Chelsea succeeding with a bid for either Thierry Henry or Vieira.

The source said: "Everybody knows where we stand on this, whether it's Chelsea or Real Madrid. They are not for sale - end of story."