- Rice set to complete Arsenal move
- May not wear no. 41 at Arsenal
- Gunners did not allow Iwobi to pick his favourite no.
WHAT HAPPENED? Arsenal are preparing to make the English midfielder the most expensive transfer in the club's history but they may not allow him to take his favourite No.41 shirt - a number he has worn at West Ham for a number of years.
WHY CAN'T RICE WEAR NO. 41 AT ARSENAL? While the terms of the deal have been agreed between all the parties, the player is yet to sign any paperwork. But when the deal is official, Rice may not be able to take his favourite shirt number as the club generally does not allow players to pick numbers other than the designated 'senior numbers'. Such an instance happened in the past when former attacker Alex Iwobi could not take his preferred No.45 jersey and had to settle for the No.17 instead.
WHAT IWOBI SAID: Back in 2020, in an Instagram live, Iwobi revealed: "I actually loved big 45 when I came into the scene in the first place, it was a youth team number at Arsenal but they told me to change to a senior number, so the next available that was 17. Ever since then, it’s been that number and you’ve got to love it."
IN TWO PHOTOS:
THE BIGGER PICTURE: In 2022, during an episode of The Overlap, Rice revealed why he wore the No.41 jersey at West Ham. He said: "It was just a number I was given in the academy by the kitman, Jamo. When you're in the U23s, you've obviously got the first-team squad numbers and then it starts to get to the higher numbers when you're in the U23s."
WHAT'S NEXT: The midfielder will hope that the Gunners make an exception for him and allow him to select his favourite number.