Leandro Trossard has chosen the number 19 shirt as an Arsenal player after his move to the Emirates Stadium was signed-off.
The Belgian winger completed a £27m move from Premier League rivals Brighton on Friday afternoon. Speaking after his switch was rubber-stamped, he said: “I’m really excited to get started. This is a big club and I’m ready to show the fans what I can do.
"Everyone has seen how well we’re doing already and I’m here to help achieve their dreams - including myself. I’m going to take it day by day, work hard and try to help the team to achieve their goals.
"[I want to] get better as well. I know the manager is a great coach and I hope to be involved in doing great things and getting better as a player in every aspect. I’m really excited to see the fans in the stadium. I hope I can give you my all. I want to try and create as many magic moments as possible, and hopefully we can celebrate together.”
He added: “[The club] has so much history and I want to be part of that history going on. That’s why I joined this project. I’m really excited to be here. I want to show myself to all the fans and on the biggest stage.”
Whilst he is anxious to get going, he might want to look to the past at the previous occupants of his new shirt. The previous owner of the number 19 at the Emirates Stadium was the Gunners’ record signing Nicolas Pepe.
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The Ivorian showed some bright moments in North London following his switch from Lille - a 16-goal season in 2020/21 among the highlights - but he flattered to deceive on one too many occasions and was sent out on a season-long loan to Nice at the start of this season.
Goalkeeper Bernd Leno was the previous occupant of the shirt before that having donned the number during the 2018/19 season - his first campaign since a move from Bayer Leverkusen. He had the shirt for just one season though.
The previous occupant was Spanish midfielder Santi Carzorla. Despite his ongoing injury issues at the Emirates Stadium, he became a hugely popular figure with Arsenal.
The same could certainly be said of Jack Wilshere who donned the number 19 shirt between 2008 and 2012 before making the switch to 10. The most successful owner of the shirt arguably came before that though with Gilberto Silva wearing the number between 2002 and 2008.
In that time, the Brazilian played a major role in the Gunners’ ‘Invincible’ season and won a further two FA Cups.
Before that, other owners of the shirt included the likes of Junichi Inamoto, who never made an appearance for the club. Stefan Malz, Remi Garde, Chris Kiwomya, John Hensen and Jimmy Carter also possessed their number during their times with Arsenal.
