Every Arsenal player to wear the #9 shirt since 2000 – ranked

8. Francis Jeffers

After breaking out at Everton, Arsenal thought they’d signed the prelude to Wayne Rooney in 2001 as Francis Jeffers joined the club in an initial £8m deal.

However, the young Englishman was drowned out by the club’s superstars and injuries ravaged his spell in north London.

Jeffers was inconsequential amid an incredibly productive period for the club. He scored just eight times in 38 appearances, with much of his (little) good work arriving in cup competitions.

7. Lucas Perez

The Gunners panic bought Lucas Perez at the end of the 2016 summer transfer window after the Spaniard scored 17 La Liga goals for Deportivo La Coruna the season prior.

Despite Wenger saying at the time of his arrival that Perez was “not only a goalscorer, he’s a guy who combines well with partners, who can give a final ball and makes good runs”, it quickly became obvious that he wasn’t cut out for the Premier League.

He was usurped by Alexandre Lacazette as the club’s #9 (which he wasn’t best too pleased about) after just a year before he returned to Deportivo on loan for the 2017/18 campaign.

The striker’s career has been on a downward spiral since.

6. Julio Baptista

I dare you to recall a Julio Baptista Arsenal moment that doesn’t involve Anfield and that divine yellow strip. You can’t, can you?

Baptista’s four goals away at Liverpool in a League Cup tie cemented himself in Gunners folklore, but the dizzying heights he reached that night proved to be a one-off.

The Brazilian’s demonic spell at Sevilla earned him a move to Real Madrid in 2005, but the bright lights of the Bernabeu proved too much for the forward.

Arsenal signed him on loan for the 2006/07 season, hoping to facilitate a revival, but Baptista scored just three goals in 24 Premier League appearances, convincing the club that he wasn’t worth having around any longer.

Continued on the next slide…