It all started, really, with Dennis Bergkamp. The Dutchman was the catalyst for Arsenal’s transformation into a true footballing side, preceding the arrival of Arsene Wenger and setting the tone for the emphasis upon skill and creativity which has defined Arsenal, by and large, ever since.
And focus on the No 10 shirt, too, started with Bergkamp. When he arrived, that number was taken by Paul Merson, who moved down to No 9 without too many complaints — he’d worn plenty of numbers over the years. Before that, though, Arsenal didn’t have a particular affinity with the No 10.
The No 7 shirt had been popular over the years: Liam Brady, David Rocastle. The man of the moment was Ian Wright, No 8. No 9 made Arsenal fans think of John Radford and Alan Smith, while No 11 evoked George Armstrong and Charlie George. But most Arsenal fans in the 1990s probably couldn’t remember a truly legendary No 10, unless they were around for Herbert Chapman’s side of the 1930s. For the greatest night in the club’s history, at Anfield in 1989, the No 10 shirt was worn by supplementary centre-back Steve Bould.
Post-Bergkamp, it’s become a bit of an issue. Its subsequent wearer was defender William Gallas, Arsene Wenger’s logic being that handing Bergkamp’s number to someone else would put too much pressure on their shoulders.
Gallas, of course, wore the No 10 shirt about as convincingly as he wore the captain’s armband, before it passed on to the more logical Robin van Persie, who promptly produced his best two seasons for Arsenal, ironically as his role on the pitch shifted from being that of a No 10 to more of a No 9.
But when Van Persie fled and Jack Wilshere took the shirt, he couldn’t live up to expectations. His best Arsenal performances came in his old No 19. Mesut Ozil, too, was at his best in No 11.
