William Saliba looks set to land his dream shirt number at Arsenal with Hector Bellerin closing in on a departure from the Premier League side.
Saliba has returned to the Gunners following three seasons on loan in Ligue 1 and looks set to be one of Mikel Arteta's primary centre-backs. He currently possesses the number 12 shirt, wearing it as he won man of the match in the win over Crystal Palace last Friday.
But his preferred shirt is the number 2, having had that printed onto a pair of personalised Nike shoes ahead of the new campaign. Preventing him from taking that shirt when he returned to the Emirates has been Bellerin, though.
The right-back was allowed to retake his old number when he came back to Arsenal from his loan at Real Betis. But the opening day win over Palace showed that he has no place in Mikel Arteta's plans, with Takehiro Tomiyasu, Cedric Soares and even Ben White ahead of him in the pecking order at right-back.
As a result, Bellerin has been attempting to depart the Gunners this summer, with Betis his preferred destination. According to El Chiringuito, his agent Albert Botines is pushing for Arsenal to terminate his current deal so he can join Betis on a free transfer.
He has no desire to see out the final year of his Arsenal contract, but the Gunners are hoping to bring in a fee for him. That is something Betis cannot afford, with the only solution being for the Gunners to rip up his contract.
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Botines is expected in the English capital this week to discuss a termination, which Arsenal could agree to to get his £110,000 per week wages off their books. Betis would then be ready to offer him a contract, and open up the way for Saliba to take his favoured number.
While Premier League rules state that players are not usually allowed to change numbers mid-season, the fact that Bellerin has not featured means that he could switch. Cristiano Ronaldo made a similar move last season when he took the number 7 from Edinson Cavani, and Erik Lamela changed to the No.11 when Gareth Bale left Tottenha, having already worn another number that season.
Saliba will hope to retain his place alongside Gabriel when Arsenal face Leicester on Saturday. And following the win over Palace, Saliba made his joy at finally making his debut for the Gunners clear to see.
"It’s the first game, it’s important to win for the confidence. We start well this season. It’s never easy, we have to give the maximum of ourself and it’s good. It helped me spending two years on loan in France. I’m young and need to play. But I’m back and I hope we make a good season," he told Sky Sports.
"Long time waiting for this moment, I’m so happy to start my first game with a win and a clean sheet. It is like this it is the first game. We knew it would be hard here. We stayed compact and it’s good for the debut. Very happy to win today, we concede some chances but we were strong and solid."
