Dennis Bergkamp believes this coming season will see Arsenal push London rivals and reigning champions Chelsea all the way for the Premiership title.
The Dutchman, who called time on his 11-year career with the Gunners at the end of last term, believes Chelsea are vulnerable despite the arrival of Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko at Stamford Bridge.
"I think last year gave a lot of teams some confidence because Chelsea dropped points here and there and lost a few games they weren't expected to," Bergkamp said ahead of his testimonial match at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium this weekend.
"Liverpool, Manchester United and us will be up there this year as well. There is more of a chance for the other teams this year than in the last two years," the 37-year-old Bergkamp added.
"They've bought Shevchenko and they already have the likes of [Didier] Drogba, but you can't play them all. You can have six world-class strikers, but you can only play two, or maybe three, at a time," he said.
"From us being favorites two years ago it's different now, and maybe we are not favorites anymore. But I feel with this team, every year they are getting stronger and stronger, they are more experienced and many of them played in the World Cup, and if they can bring that to this team I really think they can challenge," the Dutch master explained.
"Last season our Champions League run gave us a lot of confidence and at times we took that into the league. And with a good pre-season and a good start they can build on that and keep it going again. They have the experience, it's not new to them," he said.
Bergkamp also said he wanted Ashley Cole to stay with Arsenal, following increased speculation concerning the England left-back's future.
Cole, 25, criticized Arsenal for the way they dealt with last season's infamous "tapping up row" with Chelsea, but Bergkamp remained hopeful the defender would stay a one-club man.
"I believe it's special for a team and the fans to have a player who is one of their own. It's good for the club to have a player who has come through the ranks and he's obviously a great player, as he showed again at the World Cup," he said.
Arsenal flung open the doors of their spanking new ?390 million (US$712 million), state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium on Thursday hoping it will help launch a new golden era.
Just 66 days after leaving Highbury, manager Arsene Wenger oversaw an open training session at the new stadium in front of 20,000 supporters with the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Alexander Hleb, Manuel Almunia and new ?7 million signing Tomas Rosicky of the Czech Republic on show.
"It's a fantastic stadium and it needs a fantastic team," Wenger said.
"We believe we have a great team here and we want to challenge for the title and of course the Champions League again. We also want to add one or two players," he said.
The stunning 60,000-capacity ground will this weekend play host to its first game when Ajax provide the opposition in Bergkamp's sold-out testimonial.
And as the north Londoners bid farewell to a legend, Bergkamp feels Arsenal can look forward to a bright new era in the club's illustrious history.
"Every player should be inspired to play here,'' Bergkamp said.
"Maybe that will happen to opponents as well which may be a problem, like when I played for the Dutch at Wembley. But I hope the players here realize what progress Arsenal have made and can be proud," he said.An open training session yesterday was watched by some 20,000 fans. Afterwards Wenger confirmed that talismanic striker Thierry Henry was due back in training on Aug. 2 after playing for France at the World Cup before voicing his hopes for the new season.
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