The iconic 23’s
Well hello there, dear readers,
After the first part of the series for the players that wore a certain number it’s now time for the second coming. Once again using a random number generator, as it’s kinda hard to pick an ordinary number from 1 to 25 (or even more from the bit obscured ones), the draw decided that we should visit door number 23 today. Of course everyone first impression when hearing this number is His Airness Michael Jordan, or Mr.David Beckham, but today and always we’ll talk about players who wore that number for The Arsenal. Let’s begin, shall we.
1993-1995 - Ray Parlour - The Romford Pele
The first person to done the number (or at least that’s what the record books on the Internet are saying) is a cult hero and fan favourite later on in his career. Parlour made it through the Arsenal academy, and got his debut against Liverpool, in the final season of the First Division, before it became the Premier League. Parlour only played 6 games in total in that season, but his game time significantly increased in the next one. There he became a more regular piece in the midfield area, after David Rocastle was sold to Leeds in the summer. The 1992-93 season saw Parlour play 23 games in total in which he scored two goals. Arsenal famously won a Cup Double in that season beating Sheffield Wednesday on both occasions to win the League and FA Cups.
In 1993-94, Parlour’s role kept rising and he added another 32 games in all comps. to his name. At the end of the season, Arsenal managed to win the Cup Winner’s Cup with a 1-0 win against Parma in Copenhagen, which is still considered as an European trophy, despite the fact that some internet trolls tend to joke that we don’t have any of them.
The 1994-95 season, was Parlour’s last with the number 23 shirt and this is where he became ever present in the squad. His 45 appearances in all comps that season were the fifth highest of the team (tied with Ian Wright). After that season, Ray took the number 15 shirt from the departing Stefan Schwarz and his former number came to the hands of the next person.
1995-96 - Paul Dickov
The Scottish forward with a famously recognizable name for us Bulgarians (due to his Bulgarian grandfather) took up the number from Parlour at the beginning of the 95-96 Premier League season. However his game time was very limited and he only managed to play a total of 7 games in that season with 1 goal in return. That turned out to be his final season for Arsenal, and he was sold to Manchester City in the summer of 1996, where he made the most of his career with more than 150 games, and actually he now works for the club television as a pundit. After his departure no other player took the shirt for the 1996-97 season.
As the next few owners of the shirt are less popular to the audience I will combine them in one section just to save some space. This covers the period from 1997 to 2001.
In 1997, Arsene Wenger spotted young German midfielder Alberto Mendez (who judging by the name is a clear German, but nowadays their international players have even more traditional German names like Mehmed, Aziz, Ali, Mustapha etc), from the German lower leagues. He made his debut in a League Cup game against Birmingham City where he even scored his debut goal. As you may guess, he didn’t manage to break into the first team and went out on a few loan spells. In total Mendez played 11 games for Arsenal.
The next person in the shirt was already a part of the team and his name is Stephen Hughes. Not one of the most popular English players, but the locals know him. His role as a squad player earned him a decent amount of games in the previous season, but in 1999-2000, when he got the number 23 shirt it turned out to be his final season for the club. After the start of the season, he joined fellow London side Fulham on loan, before securing a permanent move to Everton in March 2000. In total Hughes played 76 games for Arsenal, and even has a Premier League winners medal from the 1997-98 season.
The third and final person to wear the number 23 in this period, was also at the club before he got his hands on that shirt. In fact he actually wore the iconic number 7, despite being a right back. If you have not guessed him by now, the name is Nelson Vivas. He joined the club in the summer of 1998, from Argentinian giants Boca Juniors and was mainly used as a back up for the established first choice backs, Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn. That has earned him a moderate amount of games for the club, mainly from the bench. With the arrival of Robert Pires from Marseille, Vivas had to switch numbers and was given the vacated 23 shirt. Similar to the situation with Stephen Hughes, that turned out to be the final season for the Argentinian and he was sold to Inter Milan in the summer of 2001. And then came the big fish from the pond.
2001-2006 Sol Campbell
During the 2000-01 season, there was a lot of speculation regarding Campbell’s future at Spurs as he delayed his decision to sign a new deal. Journalists have been frequent in post match interviews with him to find if he’ll stay at White Hart Lane, or leave at the end of the season. We all remember that moment where Sol said that was going to stay despite the obvious bluffing scratch of his beard. And after weeks of speculation, the magical date of July 3rd 2001 came. An urgent press conference was called by Arsene Wenger and David Dein. The press thought that it was going to be a different announcement, but when Sol Campell appeared in the room, everyone was shocked. The unthinkable has happened. Sol Campbell, a player with more than 300 games from Spurs, left on a free transfer to join their fierce rivals Arsenal.
Sol became an instant part of the team and was vital for the club’s success in the Premier League, and on the domestic scene. In his first 3 seasons, he played almost 150 games in all comps forming partnerships with Martin Keown and Kolo Toure. We all know the story about the Invincibles, so I won’t get into details about them, apart from one thing. There is this famous quote on the Internet which states: “I always wanted to win the Premier League at White Hart Lane. So I left, and joined Arsenal.” - regarding Arsenal clinching the title at their rivals stadium (for the second time in history).
After Euro 2004, Sol Campbell’s form and playing time was hit by a knee injury. His absence gave Pascal Cygan a chance to play and he took it, even though many Arsenal fans consider him one of the worst defenders to ever play in red and white. After going 49 games unbeaten in the League, the 50th one, turned out to be a visit to Old Trafford and Manchester United. Campbell was penalised for a foul against Wayne Rooney, despite claiming that he took a dive (which was completely obvious, as Rooney fell to the ground like he was shot with a rifle). In total Campbell played only 21 games in all comps due to injuries. He even was an unused substitute in the 2005 FA Cup FInal against Man.United. The 2005-06 season was an eventful one for a lot of reasons. The last one at Highbury, the last one for Dennis Bergkamp, and as it later turned out the final one for Bobby Pires and Sol Campbell himself. He continued to struggle with injuries and bad form during the majority of the season, even though Arsenal went on a fantastic run without conceding in the Champions League, and reached the final in Paris, in which Sol actually scored in the first half. However Barcelona managed to turn the game around against 10 men Arsenal and won the Champions League.
That turned out to be the final game for Sol, as he left by mutual consent in the summer. 4 years later he returned to the club for a brief 6 month spell due to a big injury crisis. During this period, Sol wore number 31 on his back, as his previous one, was taken. Overall Campbell played 197 games for the club and won 2 Premier League titles and 3 FA Cups.
For the next almost 3 years no other player has worn the number 23 shirt, before this guy took it.
2009-2013 - Andrey Arshavin
The little Russian came to North London during the 2008-09 January transfer window from Zenit for £15M. His name gained fame at the Euro 2008 where Russia reached the semi-finals. Of course everybody has the instant memory of that game at Anfield on April 21st 2009, where Arshavin scored all four of Arsenal’s goals in a crazy 4-4 draw. The Russian finished the season with 6 goals in 15 games overall, and became something like a fan favourite.
His next two campaigns saw him reach 100 games for the club as he played regularly and his goal contributions were on point. In 92 games during these two seasons Arshavin scored 22 times and provided 23 assists in all competitions. Unfortunately his lifestyle was a bit messy with the fact that many considered him to be lazy and not willing to take self care. His love for fast food was not helping either. He managed to feature in 27 games mainly from the bench during the 2011-12 season, before leaving on loan to Zenit. This decision was in order to keep his place in the Russian national team for the upcoming European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.
Following its conclusion Arshavin returned to London but his game time was cut short and he only managed to record 11 games from the bench. He left the club at the end of the 2012-13 season after his deal expired. In total Arshavin played 144 times for Arsenal in which he scored 31 goals and provided 41 assists.
Fun fact: Arshavin ended his career in Kazakhstan with Kairat Almaty, a club which Arsenal will face in the final matchday of the League Phase of the Champions League this season.
2013-14 - Nicklas Bendtner
The Lord himself has arrived. Bendtner only played a single season with the number 23 after he returned to the club from a loan spell at Juventus. He is more known to the fans with his other shirt numbers 26 and 52, but that is a story for another time. The Dane wanted to prove himself after failing to impress in Turin, his injury record was not in his favour, and he was only limited to 14 games in total for the season, mainly from the bench. He scored two vital goals in two home wins against Hull City in December, and Cardiff on New Year’s Day. After the end of the season, Bendtner’s deal had expired and he left as a free agent.
2014-2019 - Danny Welbeck
Welbeck joined Arsenal from Manchester United on Deadline Day in 2014 for a fee of around £16M. His first goal for the club came at Villa Park in mid September where the Gunners scored 3 goals in 3 minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-0. On October 1st, Welbeck scored his first career hattrick against Galatasaray in the Champions League. But the fans will remember Danny for one special goal, which came at Old Trafford in the fifth round of the FA Cup. And not only that he scored the winning goal, but his celebration was also on point.
During the next two seasons, Welbeck’s game time took a big hit due to long term knee injuries. However he made a cult return once more on St.Valentine’s Day, scoring a 95 minute header against Leicester City, to win the game. Unfortunately the Foxes won the League in May, but that is a story for a different time. In the following season, Welbeck’s fitness was on a good level and he managed to feature in 43 games in all comps, which is the highest number in his career to this day. In 2018-19, another big injury was pretty much a signal that his time at Arsenal is coming to an end. His contract expired at the end of the season, and he joined fellow London based team Watford for a single season, before switching teams again and signing for Brighton, where he still plays today.
Overall Danny Welbeck played 126 times for the Gunners in which he scored 32 goals, and won two FA Cup trophies.
2019-2021 David Luiz
Even though we have done business with Chelsea before, it’s fair to say that after this transfer, it became a mandatory annual thing to sign someone from the Blues.
Luiz joined Arsenal right before the start of the 2019-20 season for a fee of around £8M. His experience was much needed, as then club captain Laurent Koscielny decided to leave (in a very strange way, thus tarnishing his legacy at the club, hence why, nobody has mentioned him ever since). However David Luiz became more known as a player who you know is gonna make a mistake, but you don’t know when. His first season was full of comical errors leading to goals, conceding penalties and red cards. Despite that, many people in the club described him as a vital part for the young players.
In 2020, after signing Gabriel from Lille in the place of Shkodran Mustafi (that cult hero), Luiz’s role turned out to be a bit more from the bench. He still managed to play 27 games in all comps this season, with less stupid decisions and booking (apart from one penalty and red card against Wolves, which was shambolic from the refs and VAR). Overall David Luiz played 73 games for the club, and scored 4 goals, before returning to his native Brazil in 2021. He now plays for Cypriot side Pafos FC.
2021-24 Albert Sambi Lokonga
The Belgian midfielder signed for Arsenal from his boyhood club Anderlecht, after being recommended to Mikel Arteta by then manager Vincent Kompany. The Gunners paid £17M for him, with high hopes for the player to become a star in the centre line.
He featured regularly during his first season and had 24 games in all comps. In the first half of the 2022-23 season, Lokonga’s role was changed and he mostly came from the bench in the League, while starting all 6 group stage games in Europe. During the January transfer window, the Belgian joined fellow Premier League team Crystal Palace on loan. However, he failed to impress then manager and Arsenal legend, Patrick Vieira and only played 9 times for the Eagles.
That was basically the end of Lokonga’s story with Arsenal, as two season long loan spells at Luton and Sevilla followed, before he secured a move to German side Hamburger SV on Deadline day in 2025, for a small fee. In total Lokonga played 39 games in red and white.
2024 - present Mikel Merino
Of course we come to the present day with the current holder of the number 23 shirt. After much speculation and delay following Euro 2024, Mikel Merino joined the Gunner from Real Sociedad for a fee in excess of £30M.
We all remember the news about him getting injured during his first training session following a collision with Gabriel Martinelli. While being signed to boost the midfield area, Merino turned up to be Arsenal’s emergency striker following an injury crisis in the winter and spring of 2025. He took the job quite seriously and scored 5 goals in the League during this period. So far, his signing turns out to be a bargain.
In the end of this article, I will give you the chance to choose the next number for part 3. And as always enjoy it.
Dave Hardy.
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