Arsenal ’s summer is continuing to heat up as the transfer window and pre-season continues to rage on. Mikel Arteta has already added four brand new names to his squad, spending nearly £80million.
Striker Gabriel Jesus is one of those, joining from Manchester City in a deal worth £45million. He joins a duo of Brazilian players at the club already, with Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli first-team stars for both club and country.
That trio could soon become a quartet though, as reports suggest the Gunners are interested in Lyon and Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta. The 24-year-old has impressed in France since making the move from AC Milan in 2020.
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Lyon are said to be holding out for £67.5million to let the Brazilian leave this summer, after Edu contacted the camp over a move. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal would be willing to match that price tag though.
Should he make that switch, football.london takes a closer look at what numbers are currently available in north London.
Paqueta has worn an array of numbers in his time as a footballer, spanning from number 39 to iconic football shirts with the numbers seven, nine and ten on the back. However, it was in his time wearing the number ten shirt for Brazil that he caught some criticism from icon Rivaldo.
The midfielder donned the number - worn by the likes of Pele, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Neymar and Rivaldo himself - in a friendly match against Argentina. However, the Brazilian legend was unhappy and took to Instagram to say: "I watched the match between Brazil v Argentina and was very sad to see what happened with the No.10 shirt.
"They gave the shirt to Paqueta against Argentina. A shirt that is respected worldwide. This shirt is not meant to be on the bench, let alone go off at half-time."
Paqueta currently wears that number for Lyon, but that won’t be available due to Emile Smith Rowe occupying it. Numbers currently available at Arsenal (up to 30): 12, 14, 28, 29.
However, a number of other players have been linked with moves away from the club, potentially freeing up those positions for Paqueta. Those links include: 1 (Leno), 2 (Bellerin), 13 (Runarsson), 15 (Maitland-Niles), 19 (Pepe), 22 (Mari), 24 (Nelson), 26 (Balogun).
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