For many soccer players joining a new club, there will be a debate about what jersey number they take. It’s a status symbol for certain positions; the first-choice striker gets the No. 9, the team’s creative lynchpin is bestowed the 10, the number one goalkeeper is quite literally singled out.
Yet, for Bruno Guimarães, it’s all about No. 39.
“The number tells a story more beautiful than words can say,” the Brazilian midfielder heading from Newcastle United to Arsenal told The Players’ Tribune in 2023. “I know people think it’s a weird number for a footballer. But for me 39 is special—no, it’s more than that. It’s magical. The No. 39 gave me everything in life. ... It fed me, clothed me and paid for three-hour bus rides to pursue my dream.”
As Guimarães would explain, #039 was the dispatch number for his father’s taxi cab in Rio de Janeiro.
Guimarães grew up in awe of his father and his prodigious work ethic, trawling through the streets of Brazil’s second biggest city from dusk till dawn. The only time of the week which offered Guimarães Sr. any respite was when he went to see his rake-thin son tip toe up and down Rio’s dusty pitches on a Saturday.
It was not a straightforward progression through Brazilian youth soccer for Guimarães, who was so pessimistic about his future at one point he got his driver’s license in preparation for his own career as a taxi driver.
But things turned when he got a loan to Athletico Paranaense in 2017. His father rang him up and had a suggestion for his choice of shirt number. “What about 39? That is more than a number. 039 gave us everything we have, Bruno. Our house, our food, our furniture, your football boots. It was all because of our taxi.”
Guimarães could scarcely turn that request down but had already been assigned a number when he arrived at Athletico. By a quirk of fate, he had been randomly handed the No. 39. He and his father both broke down in tears.
From then on, the industrious midfielder has worn those emotional digits at Lyon and Newcastle, while even having them tattooed on his right calf. Fortunately, no one in the Arsenal squad is currently in possession of the shirt, but they perhaps could have been persuaded to give it up regardless.
History of No. 39 at Arsenal
Guimarães will comfortably be the most high profile Arsenal player to choose No. 39, but he won’t be the first notable name to wear those digits.
Francis Coquelin made his Premier League debut in the No. 39. It just so happened to be a baptism of fire, with Arsène Wenger’s undercooked side suffering an 8–2 humiliation at the hands of reigning champions Manchester United in the third week of the 2011–12 season—a loss which, ironically, convinced the Gunners to buy future manager Mikel Arteta. After that chastening experience, it’s perhaps little surprise that Coquelin shed the number at the first possible opportunity.
Former fan favorite Héctor Bellerín worked his way up the numerical pecking order, taking on 39 during a progression from 40 all the way down to No. 2 during his 11 years on Arsenal’s books.
Academy midfielder Harrison Dudziak was technically assigned No. 39 during his one and only appearance in a senior matchday squad last season. The 20-year-old has since been released over the summer, paving the way for Guimarães to take his magical digits.
| Player | Years in the Number |
|---|---|
| Harrison Dudziak | 2025–26 |
| Héctor Bellerín | 2014–15 |
| Zak Ansah | 2012–13 |
| Francis Coquelin | 2011–12 |
| Rui Fonte | 2008–09 |
| Mark Howard | 2005–06 |
| Sebastian Larsson | 2004–05 |
Data via Transfermarkt.
