Agree…
This whole episode is just silly, unnecessary, and again, SILLY.
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Fucking load of bollocks. Who cares what number you’ve got on your back. It’s your brain and feet that matter.
If giving a player a shirt number is such a big deal (as is being made out here), then stripping a player of their number is an even bigger deal.
couldn’t give a toss how good you are. you dont strip numbers to appease an ego. especially when it’s someone thats been at arsenal for this long
This whole thing reminds me of Zlatan at United…
When asked about giving the #9 to Lukaku, Zlat just jokingly said he would be upgraded to #10…
I agree that stripping away the # is bad, but I just don’t understand that how they could not settle this internally.
If Ozil insists he has to take #10 be part of the negotiation to sign the extension, either 1/ Wenger/Jack will do it, or 2/ Wenger/Jack refused and start shopping Ozil out.
This should be the least important and last reason why the extension is not signed.
Personally I think all these #10, 300k a week are all fake news.
If he goes to United, can he take the #10 from Zlatan?
If he goes to Real, can he take it from Modric?
Everything is just bull shit, and try to make him look bad.
Ozil, the sure starter for German NT, did not even ask the #10 from Poldi, who was a senior but mainly a sub at the team when they played together after 2010.
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As soon as Wilshere decided he wanted to leave on loan as far as I’m concerned he should have lost his claim over a shirt number. If for whatever reason you dont want to hang around then you hold no claim over a shirt number, it should be available to someone who is playing for the club. My preference is for starting players to have starting numbers, maybe because I’ve always thought it cool that in the old days it was always 1-11 in defined positions.
Irrelevant bullshit anyway imo, it shouldn’t be and probably isn’t a big deal.
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Ray Wilkins is the biggest yer da in the world lol
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By that logic, we should have just retired it after Bergkamp left.
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Grown men losing their shit over a shirt number 
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Btw why are shirt numbers necessary?
Probably because it’s easier for a ref for write down “16” rather than “Błaszczykowski” 
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Mesut Ozil “is not good enough to inherit Jack Wilshere’s No.10 shirt” says Ray Wilkins
If Wilkins went and said that to the German World Cup winning players. their answer would be, “Jack who?”
It used to be every number showed the position the player played in.
So roughly, 1 was the GK, 2 was RB, 3 was LB, 4, 5 and 6 were defenders or DM’s, 7 was RW 11 was LW, and 8 and 10 were attacking MF and 9 was striker.
There were no numbers for individual players, just for the position in the team.
As @YJYUX said, it’s ridiculous to get so bothered about shirt numbers.
I doubt if Ozil is even that worried.
If he is, perhaps he should start playing like Bergkamp, and start earning the number he wants.
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In my head I always had it as:
- Keeper
- Right back
- Left back
- Centre mid
- Centre back
- Centre back
- Centre mid
- Right wing
- Centre forward
- Centre forward
- Left wing
I was only born in 1990 so definitely not trying to tell you that you are wrong!
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Ah i see.
I also fear one of them would end up writing - “That black dude”
I would agree with all that apart from number 7, which used to be RW when I was younger.
The first game I went to was when George Armstrong was in that position and that number.
Also George Best played at number 7 and was RW before he moved into MF.
But I think you’re right that later on the number 7 shirt was more for midfield players, like Robson and Beckham at Man U and Dalglish and Keegan at Liverpool.
Then it all seemed to change and the numbers didn’t seem as much especially when the squad numbers came about.
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Close. 7 is RM, 8 CM.
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Beckham was right wing, albeit right midfield. Keegan was originally a right winger but was moved to a forward and Daglish inherited his shirt. Liverpool had left wing Barnes as number 10 too
I personally remember number 4s as centre backs and I thought it was odd Vieira getting number 4.
Steve Bould was our number 10 againt Liverpool in '89 though.
That was a bit weird.
Not exactly a player you would expect to be wearing a shirt that went on to become so iconic with our greatest attacking player.
We were playing 5 at the back that day. I think it went on to be Merson’s and Wright took number 8 because Smith had the number 9. I remember wondering if Wrighty would start.
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