In the past week alone, Arsenal have confirmed new contracts for William Saliba and Reiss Nelson as well as bid a farewell to Pablo Mari and Granit Xhaka who have joined Monza and Bayer Leverkusen respectively on permanent deals.
When also factoring in the £65million signing of Kai Havertz from Chelsea, to have got so much business done before the first pre-season fixture is a positive heading into the new campaign and considering the summer transfer window does not close for another eight weeks, the Gunners are just getting started.
In fact, the next two deals have already been mapped out. As reported by football.london earlier in the week, Arsenal have reached an agreement with Ajax to sign versatile defender Jurrien Timber for an initial €40million (£34.2million) fee that could rise to €45million (£38.5million) if certain add-ons are met.
This development came hot on the heels of a deal being struck with West Ham United to make Declan Rice their club-record signing at £105million and it's understood that both players were expected to undergo a medical ahead of completing their moves to bolster Mikel Arteta's first-team squad.
Once Timber successfully completes his medical and sign his long-term contract, naturally Gunners supporters will be looking forward to seeing the Netherlands international holding the Arsenal shirt at his unveiling - but what squad number could the defender take at the Emirates Stadium?
Well, it would appear that he has one favoured option as for the last three seasons in a row, he has worn the No.2 shirt for Ajax and it's also what he wears for his national team.
READ MORE: Jurrien Timber's strengths and weaknesses as Arsenal move one step closer to £34.2m transfer
However, at Arsenal, the incumbent No. 2 - as recently as Thursday afternoon (July 7) is Saliba as it was confirmed that alongside signing his new four-year deal in N5 that he will be 'moving to the number 2 for the 2023/24 season' thus vacating the No.12 which he wore last term.
This announcement could ultimately benefit Timber once his transfer is completed as No.12 is available and next in line should he wish to have some form of the number two on the back of his shirt. Alternatively, he could instead opt for No.22 which is also up for grabs after Mari's exit.
As things stand, the other Arsenal shirt numbers available to the 22-year-old - and Rice for that matter as his dream choice of No.41 may not be granted after all for a couple of reasons - are 28, 32 and 34 which were last worn by Joe Willock, Aaron Ramsdale and Xhaka respectively.
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