Hint over Bruno Guimaraes shirt number as another Arsenal player’s shirt number is changed

Arsenal may have hinted at Bruno Guimaraes taking the number 39 shirt that he wore at Newcastle United by switching another player to the 38 shirt.

Guimaraes is expected to be officially announced as an Arsenal player imminently, and some eagle-eyed fans may already have spotted a little hint on the club’s website.

As reported by the Daily Mirror, Arsenal youngster Louie Copley had been wearing 39, but this Guimaraes’ preferred number, and Copley is now listed as number 38 on Arsenal.com.

The Mirror explain that Guimaraes wears 39 in tribute to his father, who used to work as a taxi driver, with his cab number as .

Copley vacating the 39 shirt is surely no coincidence, in that case, as Guimaraes has also specifically requested this number at all his previous clubs – Newcastle, Lyon, and Athletico Paranaense.

Bruno Guimaraes to join unusual squad numbers club in Arsenal’s midfield

High squad numbers are generally not that fashionable in football, as many big names tend to favour the lower ones that suggest you’re part of the first XI.

In midfield, you might expect to see players wearing numbers like 7, 8, or 10, but in Arsenal’s midfield we can see Declan Rice with 41, Martin Zubimendi with 36, and Myles Lewis-Skelly with 49.

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Guimaraes coming in and wearing 39 would therefore be quite fitting in this Arsenal team!

More importantly, though, a look through those names shows what a superb squad Mikel Arteta is now working with.

Rice and Zubimendi were immense last season as Arsenal won the Premier League title, while Lewis-Skelly also featured more towards the end of the campaign and more than earned his place in Arteta’s starting line up for the Champions League final.

Adding another world class midfielder like Guimaraes to the collection looks like fine work by the Gunners, who continue to look like strong favourites to retain their title in the season ahead.