Arsenal's pursuit of Declan Rice has finally been completed.
The Gunners announced the signing of the West Ham star on July 15 after their bird of up to £105 million / $132.7 million was accepted some days ago.
Mikel Arteta has sanctioned huge spending this summer to bolster his Arsenal squad. They have already signed Jurrien Timber from Ajax and Kai Havertz from Chelsea, which should help their depth as they prepare to compete in the Champions League for the first time since 2017.
The Sporting News looks at what number Rice will wear for Arsenal next season.
MORE: Have Arsenal signed any players? List of signings during 2023 summer window
Declan Rice shirt number at Arsenal
Arsenal confirmed that Rice will wear the No.41 shirt this season. It's the same number he has worn at West Ham in recent seasons.
In an interview with Gary Neville for The Overlap, Rice said: "To be honest with you I have been having these conversations with my dad, regardless of what happens in my career I may stay with 41."
The only single-digit number yet to be taken by an Arsenal player in the current squad is 2, but William Saliba could take the number as he is reportedly set to sign a new contract, with Jurrien Timber taking his old 12 jersey.
Declan Rice number in career
Rice broke into the West Ham senior team during the 2016/17 season and became the captain of the club after taking over from the retired Mark Noble.
During his days in the youth setup, Rice wore multiple jersey numbers including his current 41. It is, however, the only digits he has worn for the senior side.
Here are all the numbers worn by Rice at West Ham.
| Squad Number | Level |
| 41 | Senior team + Under-21 |
| 6 | Under-21 |
| 5 | Under-21 |
| 12 | Under-21 |
| 16 | Under-21 |
| 68 | Under-18 |
Arsenal shirt numbers
Oleksandr Zinchenko held the previous the highest squad number at Arsenal, choosing 35 when he joined the Gunners in 2022. January 2023 signings Leandro Trossard and Jorginho chose 19 and 20 respectively while Jakub Kiwior wears 15.
Kai Havertz took No.26, while Jurrien Timer is the new 12, with William Saliba moving to 2.
Here are the Arsenal squad numbers heading into the 2023/24 season.
| Player | Number |
|---|---|
| Aaron Ramsdale | 1 |
| William Saliba | 2 |
| Kieran Tierney | 3 |
| Ben White | 4 |
| Thomas Partey | 5 |
| Gabriel Magalhaes | 6 |
| Bukayo Saka | 7 |
| Martin Odegaard | 8 |
| Gabriel Jesus | 9 |
| Emile Smith Rowe | 10 |
| Gabriel Martinelli | 11 |
| Jurrien Timber | 12 |
| Eddie Nketiah | 14 |
| Jakub Kiwior | 15 |
| Rob Holding | 16 |
| Takehiro Tomiyasu | 18 |
| Leandro Trossard | 19 |
| Jorginho | 20 |
| Fabio Vieira | 21 |
| Reiss Nelson | 24 |
| Mohamed Elneny | 25 |
| Folarin Balogun | 26 |
| Kai Havertz | 29 |
| Matt Turner | 30 |
| Karl Hein | 31 |
| Granit Xhaka | 34 |
| Oleksandr Zinchenko | 35 |
Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, TNT Sports | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo | Fubo, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streamed exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).