Arsenal are pushing to sign Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres as Mikel Arteta eyes strengthening his attacking ranks. However, the 27-year-old talisman may be forced to wait to be the Gunners number nine in name.
The North London club have diverted their attention to the Sweden international following their pursuit of Benjamin Sesko stalled. RB Leipzig have not budged over their valuation and Arsenal refused to be forced into paying a fee in excess of the Bundesliga club's valuation.
Gyokeres has expressed a desire to make the move to the Emirates Stadium which is a benefit for Arsenal's pursuit of the Swede as they look to tackle their attacking woes.
Their shortcomings in the title race to Liverpool were largely down to injuries and a lack of a recognised striker with midfielder Mikel Merino forced to feature as a striker after Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus were ruled out for the season.
Arsenal hope that an agreement with the Portuguese champions can be swiftly agreed in order for Gyokeres to meet up with his new teammates for the pre-season preparations which feature warm-weather training in Spain and a tour of Asia.
The move has the potential to be a landmark deal for the Gunners and the Sweden international, with supporters wanting to celebrate the 27-year-old's move by acquiring the new Arsenal kit with his name on the back.
With that comes the question of what squad number he will receive, and with Gabriel Jesus currently occupying the number nine, he will be forced to take another shirt.
Despite holding the same number that he did in his time with Manchester City, Jesus explained how he has been forced to change his approach to football in recent years.
Speaking in 2023, he said: "It’s worth pointing out that I’ve been playing a lot of roles at Arsenal.
"Obviously when I chose to move from [Manchester] City to Arsenal, Edu and Arteta spoke to me, and I made it clear that I’d like to play 9. That was Arsenal’s idea, for me to play 9.
"This season has been different, we’ve had injuries and in the last few games I’ve played three up front.
"For a while, I thought I’d just say I wanted to play 9, but I’m here to help the team.
"I’m blessed by God to have this talent and the versatility to play in all three forward positions. I prefer not to choose."
It isn't rare that an Arsenal striker wears a different squad number to the traditional number nine, iconic forward Thierry Henry famously wore the number 14.
Meanwhile, Ian Wright held the eight and 11 squad shirts during his goalscoring exploits in North London.
During Gyokeres' career, he has had a host of different shirt numbers, including 12 and 17 at Coventry City and 14 at Swansea City.
On the international stage, he has predominantly worn the number 17, with stints holding 16 and 18 as well as the traditional attacking 11 and 10.
At Arsenal, there are multiple squad numbers available that could be snapped up by Gyokeres.
The number 10 has been vacant since Emile Smith Rowe completed a move to Fulham; the number 14 is also yet to be occupied following Eddie Nketiah's exit.
Oleksandr Zinchenko's future may hold the key to Gyokeres picking up the same squad number as he does for Sweden, with the Ukrainian the subject of transfer speculation.