New Arsenal signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan will wear the No.7 shirt for his new club, the Gunners have revealed.
The Armenia international traded Manchester United for the Gunners on Monday, with Alexis Sanchez going the other way, after the 29-year-old successfully obtained appropriate documentation from the visa office in Liverpool.
It was soon announced that Alexis would take up the historic No.7 shirt at Old Trafford, following in the footsteps of such players as Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, before it was confirmed that Mkhitaryan would don the same jersey at the Emirates Stadium.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk star follows the likes of Robert Pires, Kevin Campbell and David Rocastle in wearing the No.7 for the north London club.
Mkhitaryan made 11 Premier League starts this season under Jose Mourinho before leaving for Arsenal, failing to establish himself as a regular first choice under the Portuguese during his time at the club.
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He made an additional four outings in the Champions League, one in the FA Cup and made a substitute appearance during the club's Carabao Cup game against Bristol City in December.
On the whole, though, Mkhitaryan found his playing time limited at Old Trafford and saw an opportunity to revive his career under a manager, in Arsene Wenger, who had previously made his interest public.
"I’m very happy that we could finish this deal and I’m very happy to be here," the attacker told Arsenal's official website upon the completion of the move.
Why can't Mkhitaryan wear No.7 in the Europa League?
Mkhitaryan has taken Alexis's No.7 shirt at Arsenal but he will not be able to wear that jersey in the Europa League, the Premier League club have confirmed.
That is because the Chilean, who will also wear the No.7 shirt for Manchester United, played for the Gunners in the current Europa League campaign - their 3-1 win over Cologne back in September - wearing that same squad number.
UEFA ruling states that if a player has played in the competition, another player is not then able to also appear at a later date with the same number.
Therefore Mkhitaryan must choose an alternative number for the remainder of the club's Europa League campaign this season, with the Gunners stating that it will be "confirmed soon".
