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Could Arsene Wenger Use the No. 9 Shirt to Arsenal’s Advantage?
By Josh Sippie
It pretty much goes without saying that all the roles and numbered shirts on Arsenal do not hold the same significance as they do on other teams or as they have in the past. Arsenal’s No. 10 is not the guy directly behind the striker feeding the ball forward to fuel the attack.
That would be Mesut Ozil, he wears No. 11.
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The No. 9 shirt at Arsenal is not the cold-blooded striker that is the primary goal scorer and provider when the No. 10 sends the ball forward into advanced positions.
That would be Olivier Giroud or Alexis Sanchez and they wear No. 12 and 17, respectively.
Similarly, the captain is supposed to be the guy that runs the club with the coach on the sideline. The captain should be level-headed but not afraid to defend his team mates. He typically plays in a central role and has a prolonged history with the club, giving him a unique perspective of the club’s history and how that pertains to the current game.
That could be a couple Arsenal players, with Aaron Ramsey being the most obvious. But it is held by Mikel Arteta as more of a symbolic role.
Likewise, the No. 10 is held by Jack Wilshere, who took the number when his hype was at its peak. But he was still not a traditional No. 10 when he took it.
No. 9 was held by Lukas Podolski until he moved on. The Metro did a fantastic piece about how that No. 9 shirt is not a big deal at Arsenal, that Arsene Wenger will not look to fill it with what a traditional No. 9 would be. That would be too cliched, right?
Normally, I would agree with the Metro, but there is a bit of a wrench in this scenario. Arsene Wenger went off the deep end with his transfer policies by snagging Petr Cech before the window even opened. That is a move that other clubs make all the time, but not one familiar to Arsenal.
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Likewise, Wenger has been busy the past two years in buying up Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.
While the striker stock at Arsenal is incredibly diverse and populated, the question still remains whether or not Arsenal will sign a new striker and in what capacity that striker will be utilized.
The No. 9 shirt can be used as a fierce bargaining chip. For starters, Podolski was supposed to be the No. 9 that Arsenal needed, but he (arguably) failed. He simply did not give up the number. That does not mean that Arsenal will not look to fill the No. 9 shirt with a traditional No. 9 role. It is the one number that was closest to its predesignated usage.
But even if Arsenal do not look to grab a premier No. 9, the allure of wearing that shirt at Arsenal could be enough to lure a striker that is on the fence towards Arsenal. Symbolic or not, it is still the No. 9 shirt and this is still Arsenal.
Next: Did Arsenal do the right thing with Podolski?