Arsenal will have to break club rule to give Declan Rice '41' shirt | OneFootball

Arsenal are on the verge of completing a move for Declan Rice from West Ham United that will see the Gunners break their transfer record, however, he might not be able to wear the number 41 shirt that he is so synonymous for in east London.

Even though the terms of the £100 million plus £5 million in add-ons has been agreed by all parties, the midfielder is yet to sign the paperwork that will see him officially become an Arsenal player.

However, when the deal does become official, which should be soon, the Hammers captain might not be able to wear his iconic number 41 on the back of his kit.

Why may Declan Rice not be allowed to wear 41 at Arsenal?

Why you ask? Well, it is because the Gunners do not generally allow players to select numbers other than the designated ‘senior numbers.’

According to Jeorge Bird on Twitter, Arsenal do not traditionally allow their first-team players to have numbers over 36 on the back of their kits.

For example, this happened when Alex Iwobi was at Arsenal as he could not take his favourite number of 45, instead he had to settle for the number 17 jersey, which the Nigerian currently wears for Everton.

Back in 2020, during an Instagram live session, the current Everton midfielder shed light on why he wore number 17 at Arsenal, and this is what he had to say, as per Goal: "I actually loved big 45 when I came into the scene in the first place, it was a youth team number at Arsenal, but they told me to change to a senior number, so the next available that was 17. Ever since then, it’s been that number, and you’ve got to love it."

However, it remains to be seen whether Rice will have to do the same as Iwobi because the current number 41 shirt is in the possession of youngster Mika Biereth and it will be fascinating to see if the midfielder is given his usual club number or if he has to go for a lower number to fit in line with the club's rules.

Why does Declan Rice wear No. 41?

In an episode with Gary Neville on The Overlap back in 2022, the Londoner explained why he wore number 41 on the back for the London Stadium outfit.

He said: "It was just a number I was given in the academy by the kitman Jamo. When you're in the U23s, you've obviously got the first-team squad numbers, and then it starts to get to the higher numbers when you're in the U23s."

Arsenal begin their Premier League campaign at home on the opening weekend against Nottingham Forest, and it will be shown live on TNT Sports (formerly known as BT Sport).

It is likely that Rice will make his Arsenal Premier League debut in the lunchtime kick-off, however, it remains to be seen what number he will have on the back of his kit.

Once the news is official, Arsenal fans will not have long to wait to discover what their record signing’s shirt number will be.