Arsenal are reportedly on the verge of sealing their first signing of the summer transfer window, as Chelsea's Kai Havertz prepares to swap West London for North London.
The Gunners are said to have agreed a deal in principle to sign the versatile 24-year-old for £65m, and he could complete his medical and sign a long-term contract in the coming days.
Having been deployed in several attacking roles in a sometimes dysfunctional Chelsea team, Havertz is yet to truly live up to his potential in the Premier League, but Mikel Arteta will welcome the challenge of trying to get the best out of the Germany international, whether that be as a striker, playmaker or number eight.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at which shirt numbers could be available to Havertz at the Emirates Stadium.
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Since making his breakthrough into the Bayer Leverkusen first team, Havertz has only ever donned the '29' at club level, inheriting that jersey at Chelsea and keeping hold of it for the past three years.
The German's choice of shirt may be a peculiar one, but he revealed in an interview with The Athletic that he sported the 29 jersey as an ode to his brother, who always selected the number when creating himself as a player in the FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer game series.
Unsurprisingly, the 29 jersey is currently vacant at Arsenal, and the Gunners would surely only be too happy to bestow Havertz with the shirt, which has not been worn by the most revered names in the club's history by any stretch.
The last player to sport the '29' was Matteo Guendouzi until his expulsion from the squad and acrimonious exit, while fellow misfits Kim Kallstrom, Marouane Chamakh and Jermaine Pennant have also worn the shirt down the years, as have the more successful Ashley Cole and Granit Xhaka.
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While Havertz has sported an array of shirts for the national team, his favoured '29' has not been one of them, and the Chelsea man has instead boasted the honour of being Germany's number 7 for the past three years.
However, that jersey is currently off-limits at Arsenal while Bukayo Saka continues to shine with the '7' on his back, while the number 10 - which Havertz has donned at youth and senior level for Germany - is still safely in Emile Smith Rowe's possession.
In terms of available numbers, the '13' and '17' were without takers for the second half of last season, although the former jersey has typically been reserved for goalkeepers; the last outfield player to sport the supposedly unlucky number for Arsenal was Aleksandr Hleb between 2005 and 2008.
Donning the '17' could see Havertz follow in Alexis Sanchez's early footsteps, but Cedric Soares has held that shirt since his arrival and is still pushing to stay at Arsenal this summer, so all signs surely point towards Havertz continuing his love affair with the '29'.
Ben Knapton
