Arsenal may be about to give their hallowed No.10 shirt to an academy graduate – with an observant fan having spotted what they believe to be a huge clue in the reassigning of the digit.
The Gunners have had an unlucky recent history with the No.10 shirt, ever since Dennis Bergkamp retired in 2006. Emile Smith Rowe was the last player to wear the top, marking a statement from the club to give the midfielder and Bukayo Saka the No.10 and No.7 shirts respectively after the pair rose to stardom in the Arsenal team.
Smith Rowe struggled over the course of the last two seasons, however, and has recently departed to Fulham. He's taken the No.32 there, the shirt number that he wore prior to the No.10 at the Emirates Stadium.
Before that, Mesut Ozil was handed the shirt, wearing it briefly in the twilight of his career in N5 – though many of his more memorable moments came as the No.11. Injury-plagued academy gem Jack Wilshere had it before that, with Robin van Persie wearing it before leaving Arsenal for Manchester United: similarly to Ozil, he's more remembered for his exploits as a No.11.
And before that, Bergkamp's hallowed No.10 was handed to centre-back William Gallas. Considered one of the strangest shirt number choices in Premier League history, Arsene Wenger infamously gifted the defender the jersey because no forward could have followed up the Dutchman's legacy.
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With the likes of Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard touted for the top next, one user on X (formerly Twitter) has spotted what they believe to be Ethan Nwaneri wearing a pair of shorts with the No.10 on. A turn-up for the books, all right.
Nwaneri was famously given a debut at 15 years old by Mikel Arteta in 2022 and only featured once in the league since. Widely considered to be one of the brightest talents for years at Arsenal's Hale End academy, the starlet has impressed in preseason, making the step up to senior football with relative ease.
It's not clear but it looks like Nwaneri has been training with a special number 👀#10 pic.twitter.com/tHjoBRscLUAugust 5, 2024
Despite the apparent bombshell, however, it's not clear whether Nwaneri is in fact wearing the No.10. The teenager wore No.83 for his debut against Brentford in the Premier League, No.63 for his second appearance against West Ham United last season and has worn No.53 in preseason.
In indoor training pictures, Nwaneri is still wearing his No.53. It's just the one shot of him outside that looks like he's donned the No.10.
Perhaps Arsenal are gearing up for an announcement? Or perhaps he picked up the wrong shorts?
In FourFourTwo's view, we're a little skeptical. Surely more senior players will pull rank to bag the jersey? It's a bold move from the club if they are bestowing such an iconic digit onto a player with less than 45 minutes' senior football under his belt…
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