Manchester City star Oleksandr Zinchenko is closing in on a move to Arsenal which will reunite him with Mikel Arteta and Gabriel Jesus.
Brazilian forward Jesus swapped the Etihad for the Emirates earlier this summer and now the versatile Ukrainian is expected to follow suit in a £30million deal. Zinchenko, 25, wants to play as a central midfielder - something which rarely occurs at City - and Arteta is keen to add another player in this position.
Pep Guardiola has largely used him as a full-back but the player has different ambitions and is backing his former assistant coach to give him the opportunities he craves. He is joining an Arsenal side which narrowly missed out on the top four last term but have invested heavily this summer as they look to rejoin the Champions League table.
Jesus recently took on the mantle of wearing the No 9 shirt at the Emirates and will hope to do it justice. Now, though, there are not a host of what you would call 'conventional' shirt numbers for Zinchenko to pick from, should his move go through.
At City, he wears the No 11 but that is currently occupied by Gabriel Martinelli in North London. He could stick close to home and wear No 12, a number previously worn by Thierry Henry for a brief period. The Frenchman returned for a loan stint in 2012 and was unable to take on his famous No 14. He may be too late though with William Saliba shirts on sale with the No 12 - although the club's website states that he is yet to be assigned a squad number.
Zinchenko could also continue with the City-Arsenal connection by taking on a shirt number previously worn by Kolo Toure - 28. The centre-half made a move from London to Manchester back in 2009 having been a notable success at Highbury and then the Emirates.
Alternatively, Zinchenko may have looked to take the No 17 shirt he wears for the Ukraine national team - also the digits he had with former club FK Ufa as a youngster. He has worn this number for his country since establishing himself in the senior side, but it is taken by Cedric Soares at the Emirates.
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While No 29 is also an option, there is a questionable history when it comes to those who've worn it. Matteo Guendouzi was the most recent occupant and he had a well publicised fallout with Arteta that saw him frozen out. Granit Xhaka has also donned it - and he has endured an up-and-down relationship with the club's fans.
Zinchenko can largely have the pick of numbers from 35 upwards, although few carry great significance and they would not reflect his expected important status. He was born in 1996, so may choose to go down that route. The No 77 was previously worn by Bukayo Saka early in his career.
Guardiola has previously discussed why he transformed Zinchenko into a left-back, citing necessity. He said: “But the needs we had… We didn’t have a left-back for many years. Fabian Delph adapted incredibly well in that position and Oleks as well. That’s happened because he is well-educated, he knows exactly what it means.”
