Arsenal set to give No.10 shirt to 17-year-old wonderkid – following eagle-eyed fan spotting potential bombshell in training

Recent events have resulted in the transfer of the No. 10 shirt from Arsenal to Fulham, where it had been previously held by Emile Smith Rowe.

An astute fan has detected what they consider to be a significant clue in the reassignment of the number ten, which suggests that Arsenal may be on the verge of handing up their prestigious No. 10 shirt to a player who has graduated from the academy.

From the time Dennis Bergkamp retired in 2006 to the present day, the Gunners have had a poor track record when it comes to wearing the No. 10 shirt. Emile Smith Rowe was the final player to wear the top, and the club made a statement by presenting the midfielder and Bukayo Saka with the No. 10 and No. 7 shirts, respectively, after the two players had a great deal of success in the Arsenal team.

In spite of this, Smith Rowe has been having a difficult time over the course of the past two seasons, and he has only lately moved on to Fulham. The number 32 is the shirt number that he wore right before he switched to the number 10 at the Emirates Stadium. He has taken that number there.

Prior to that, Mesut Ozil was presented with the shirt, and he wore it for a brief period of time during the latter stages of his career while playing for N5, despite the fact that the majority of his most famous moments occurred while he was playing for No. 11. Prior to that, the injury-prone academy star Jack Wilshere wore it, and Robin van Persie wore it before he left Arsenal for Manchester United. In a manner similar to Ozil, he is more renowned for his achievements as a No. 11 player.

And prior to that, the prestigious number 10 jersey that Bergkamp had worn was given to William Gallas, who was the centre defender. Arsene Wenger is known for giving the defender the jersey, which is considered to be one of the most peculiar examples of shirt number selection in the history of the Premier League. This is due to the fact that no striker could have followed up the Dutchman’s legacy.

One user on X (which was once known as Twitter) has observed what they think to be Ethan Nwaneri wearing a pair of shorts with the number 10 on them. This comes at a time when Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard are being rumoured to be the next finalists for the top slot. Yes, this is definitely one for the record books.

Mikel Arteta is credited with making Nwaneri’s debut in 2022, when he was just 15 years old. Since then, Nwaneri has barely played in the league. During the preseason, the teenager has made a strong impression, and he has made the transition to adult football with relative ease. He has been widely considered to be one of the most promising talents at Arsenal’s Hale End academy for many years.

Despite the fact that this information appears to be a bombshell, it is not entirely obvious whether Nwaneri is actually wearing the number 10. In his first Premier League match, which was against Brentford, the young player wore the number 83. In his second match, which was against West Ham United as part of the previous season, he wore the number 63. In preseason, he has worn the number 53.

Nwaneri is still seen wearing his No. 53 jersey in photographs taken during indoor training. It is just the one photograph of him that, when taken outside, appears to show him wearing the number ten.

It seems possible that Arsenal is getting ready to make an announcement. It’s also possible that he chose the wrong pair of shorts.

In the opinion of FourFourTwo, we have some reservations about this. Surely, there would be a greater number of veteran players who want to bag the jersey. It is a courageous decision on the part of the club to put such a prestigious number on a player who has played less than forty-five minutes of senior football…