Nicolas Pepe was a man in demand this summer, and fortunately enough for Arsenal, he chose to move to the Emirates.
The Ivorian wide man has impressed in his opening appearances for the Gunners and provided his first assist for the club in the North London derby last weekend.
Arsenal were also fairly busy in terms of departures this summer, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan the last man to exit the Emirates by completing a season-long loan move to AS Roma.
The Armenian’s exit will more than likely lead to a permanent departure next summer, which will free up the iconic number seven shirt.
And plenty of Arsenal fans on social media have called for Pepe to take on Mkhitaryan’s number next season.
Twitter: @AFTVMedia @bhavss14 7 for Nicolas Pepe!!!! (@SB39188491)
Twitter: @AFTVMedia @bhavss14 7 pepe next season (@TomFPLaccount)
Twitter: @AFTVMedia @bhavss14 7 Pepe (@Gunner_Auba)
Twitter: @AFTVMedia @bhavss14 Give pepe no 7 (@bayugiripandani)
Read Arsenal verdict
Pepe has had the number 19 on the back of his shirt for the majority of his career for both club and country, so it would be interesting to see if he’d entertain the possibility of taking Mkhitaryan’s number.
Arsenal would more than likely be willing to offer the 24-year-old the chance to swap numbers next summer, providing they can part ways with the Armenian on a permanent basis.
Alexis Sanchez, Tomas Rosicky and Robert Pires have all worn the number over the past 19 years, and Pepe definitely has the qualities to meet the expectations the number brings.
On a commercial side of things, the Gunners would love the prospect of seeing Pepe run out at the Emirates with the number seven on his back, but we’ll just have to wait and see if things materialise.
