Arsenal are being linked with all manner of profiles in midfield. Vastly different skillsets.

And all can work in some way because the man they'll play with is Thomas Partey.

Hasn't shown it yet but our #5 will be huge for Arsenal. The links speak volume of his ability. #afc pic.twitter.com/JrFbDnP1AK

— Pain In The Arsenal (@PainInThArsenal) July 3, 2021

Anyone familiar with English football knows the number 5 squad jersey is traditionally worn by a central defender. Arsenal have kept that tradition right up until this forthcoming season as it has been announced that Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey takes it, vacating number 18 in the process.

The new campaign is Partey’s second season with the Gunners. He only joined the club in October on transfer deadline day following a reported £45,000,000 transfer from Atletico Madrid of La Liga. With this break from tradition, now seems as good a time as any to look back on Arsenal’s number 5s since dedicated squad numbers first came in during 1993.

Andy Linighan was the first Gunner to be given that jersey for keeps. He wore 5 as Arsenal completed a famous cup double in the spring of 1993, first landing the League Cup as George Graham’s side came from behind to beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1. Linighan then saw the Gunners taken to a replay by the same opposition in the FA Cup final, but his extra-time goal sealed the double.

Linighan wasn’t always first-choice under Graham and swapped shirts with Steve Bould for the 1995-96 season when Bruce Rioch became Arsenal manager. A regular partner for club captain Tony Adams, Bould is synonymous with the Gunners and gave over 30 years of service as player and coach.

Glory days of Bould and Keown

Like Linighan before him, Bould was signed by Graham after progressing through the divisions. Both were tall, imposing central defenders with a commanding presence in the air. This is perhaps the blueprint for the typical Arsenal number 5. Bould famously assisted the goal that won the Premier League for the Gunners in 1998 and they later completed another double beating Newcastle United in the FA Cup final that year.

Before the 1990s were over, both Linighan and Bould left Arsenal. The latter returned after retiring and took up a role with the academy, then spent seven years as assistant to Arsene Wenger from 2012 before becoming Under-23 boss in 2019. Bould left the Emirates at the end of the 2020-21 season.

By far the most successful number 5 of the squad-numbers era has bee Martin Keown, who previously wore number 14. He inherited the jersey in 1999 when sBould departed the Gunners to finish his playing career at Sunderland. A mainstay at Arsenal for over a decade from 1993-2004, Keown played his part in three FA Cup and Premier League, winning campaigns.

His final season at Highbury was as part of the legendary Invincibles team that became champions of England without losing a game. It’s a stretch to imagine today’s Gunners putting a season like that together. In Keown’s heyday, Arsenal were regular qualifiers for the UEFA Champions League but as of 9 July, according to the Premier League football betting available online, they are 6.00 chances for a top-four finish this season.

Toure and Vermaelen sold on

When Keown left the Gunners for Leicester City ahead of the 2004-05 season, the number 5 shirt was left vacant for a couple of years. Kolo Toure took up the mantle from the 2006-07 campaign after initially getting the 28 jersey upon his arrival at Highbury in 2002, which he wore in the 2005 FA Cup final penalty shootout success over Manchester United.

Touré receiving Arsenal’s number 5 shirt coincidesd with the move to the Emirates Stadium. This expensive project limited spending as the Gunners paid for their shiny new ground. When Touré left for Manchester City in 2009, Belgium international Thomas Vermaelen took over the jersey. Injuries wrecked the promise he showed when fit and he only made the bench for the 2014 FA Cup final win over Hull City, the first trophy for Arsenal for nine years.

After Vermaelen left for Barcelona over the summer of 2014, the number 5 jersey wasn’t given out until Brazilian defender Gabriel Paulista joined in January 2015 from Villarreal for around £11,000,000. During his stay at the Emirates, the Gunners won the FA Cup on two other occasions in 2015 and 2017, but Paulista didn’t play in either final.

Difficult legacy to live up to

The number 5 jersey was again vacated when he left for Valencia. After a season without the jersey in use, Greece international Sokratis Papastathopoulos got it following a £17,500,000 transfer from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund in 2018. However, Sokratis didn’t prove as wise a signing as the namesake philosopher from antiquity. Although he did appear as a late sub when Arsenal again beat Chelsea in the 2020 FA Cup final, avenging their humbling 2019 UEFA Europa League final loss which he started.

It’s clear that over the years, the stature of those wearing the number 5 jersey for the Gunners has diminished, although Rob Holding wanted it for himself, so Partey must prove worthy of the shirt.