It’s that time of year when anticipation for the upcoming season’s new kits grows, and Arsenal fans are no exception.
Although the Arsenal home jersey for the 2023–24 season hasn’t been officially revealed, there have been a number of “leaks” of it in recent weeks.
Pictures have surfaced on social media of a mannequin sporting what seems to be the brand-new kit and being sold in a store in Indonesia.
Now, an image of Arsenal defender William Saliba presenting a fan with the new home kit surfaced on Reddit last week, as the Frenchman spent some time in Cameroon with his season effectively over, having not played since suffering a back injury during the Europa League exit at the hands of Sporting CP in March.
Interestingly, the shirt had Saliba’s name and number on the back and perhaps, this is the 22-year-old’s way of ‘revealing’ that he won’t be changing his squad number for next season which would be somewhat of a surprise given the circumstances with regard what appeared to be his favoured shirt number.
Saliba is already gifting the new Arsenal kit in Cameroon 👀 pic.twitter.com/IIbMUtOQsT
— AW (@afc_cat) May 19, 2023
Saliba.. Number 12 Or Number 2?
Upon reporting for pre-season training back in July, the Frenchman seemingly confirmed that he would be wearing the No.2 shirt for the 2022/23 campaign.
However, this particular squad number technically was not available before Arsenal faced Crystal Palace in the Premier League opener on August 5.
And, as per Premier League rules, because he strutted out at Selhurst Park wearing No.12, he can not change his squad number until next season: ‘While he remains with the Club a Player will retain his shirt number throughout the Season for which it was allocated,’ a statement reads.
Significantly for Saliba, the Arsenal No.2 shirt became vacant on transfer deadline day last summer when Hector Bellerin sealed a permanent move to Barcelona and it remains up for grabs with Jakub Kiwior, Leandro Trossard and Jorginho choosing numbers 15, 19 and 20, respectively, after joining the club in January.
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So with no indication that the No.2 shirt will be handed to another player, a change was seemingly on the cards for Saliba heading into the 2023/24 campaign.
However, following the ‘leaked’ images of next season’s home kit, it could be that he’s opting to stick with No.12 for another year.
With that said, a minor – yet potentially crucial detail – should be pointed out.
Upon a closer look at the aforementioned shirt, it reads ‘W. Saliba’ on the back but ‘Saliba’ is what has read on the back of his Arsenal shirt all season, so it could simply be a case of not reading too much into the image.
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