As we draw ever nearer to the start of another season, yet again the number 9 shirt is vacant!!!
Looking at the list of previous owners of this prestigious garment, I wonder, is it cursed, or can we not just find a player worthy of adorning it?
Previous incumbents:
Nicolas Anelka – a worthy advocate of the shirt until his brother and Arsenal took the money and ran when Reàl came calling.
Davor Šuker – came to the Gunners after the peak of his career and never really showed his ability.
Francis Jeffers – the least said about ‘the fox in the box’ the better.
Jose Antonio Reyes – not really a number 9, The Neville’s and his mum put paid to his Arsenal career.
Juan Baptista – ‘The Beast’ came with a big reputation, but flattered to deceive and left with a whimper.
Eduardo – Arsenal legend in the making, his tenure cruelly cut short by Birmingham City.
Future purveyors:
Gervinho – more of a wide player, more suited to 15 (when Denilson vacates it).
Benik Afobe – the potential is there, maybe a few years away?
And then there’s…
Karim Benzema – who would be a worthy resident of the number 9 shirt. Arsene Wenger just needs to splash the cash and hopefully the curse would be broken!!!
Well off to the UK for a few weeks, hopefully by the time I’m back it may have been filled.
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Arsenal are not quite suited for a typical 9. wenger relies on technical skills and speed, most of the good runners double as wingers, hence the lack. Frankly, I hope for another talent like Anelka, who can play it fast, with skill AND killer instinct. And also that he won’t go away the first time anyone offers a million for him.
So zdzis you hope for Afobe. Great player, I sincerely hope he gets a chance this year. But another option you forgot is Romelu Lukaku. We have good contacts to Anderlecht and we would even take his brother in, Jordan, which would be satisfying enough for their dad to accept our offer and send his talented sons to us. But well, that’s all in my mind…
…Don’t give Afobe. But another option is when we sign someone like Romelu Lukaku, he can take the number…
What are you talking about. Suker did show his ability. He was a bit past his best but showed enough that he was still a quality player when we had him.
Agree with zdzis about not being suited to a typical 9. Karim Benzema would be perfect as a 9 for arsenal though.
i believe we should retire the cursed number.
benzema is the no 9
Give it to chamberlaine