Gabriel Magalhaes will not be able to get his favoured No4 shirt to wear at Arsenal as he closes in on a move to north London.
The Brazilian has reportedly opted for a move to Emirates Stadium and is set to complete a €30million move next week.
Arsenal have beaten off competition from Manchester United and Napoli, and will tie the Lille defender to a five-year deal.
But new arrival William Saliba has already snapped up the No4 shirt which Gabriel has worn at Lille since the 2018-19 season.
Saliba signed for the Gunners last summer before being loaned back to St Etienne, but the centre-back was back at London Colney earlier this month and has taken Mohamed Elneny's No4 shirt for the 2020/21 campaign.
Egypt international Elneny is contracted to Arsenal until 2022, but his change to squad number 25 suggests Mikel Arteta may look to move him on if possible.
Bukayo Saka's reward for a breakthrough season has been a new long-term contract, but the young winger also moves from No77 to No7 to reflect his key role in Arteta's squad.
The futures of a number of players remains uncertain, though Mesut Ozil retains his No10 jersey and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is still No14.
Dani Ceballos is another player whose fate is unclear given his loan move from Real Madrid expires at the end of the season.
However, the fact that he remains No8 for now has given some Arsenal fans hope that the Spanish midfielder will either sign another loan deal – or seal a permanent transfer.
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A new shirt will expectedly be assigned to Magalhaes once he completes the move to Arsenal.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
