Shirt Number 10, or any shirt number in most clubs in the English Premier League doesn’t carry the value that it used to in the past.
The jersey numbers are usually awarded to the players based on the position that they they are playing on the pitch but in recent times, we’ve been seeing Defenders wearing shirt number that belongs to a Midfielder or even a Forward.
It’s also Worthy of note of the downgrade that has happened to some iconic or popular shirt number based on the performance and display of Players that used to wear them and Players that are wearing them now, particularly the shirt number 10 at Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Arsenal
When Arsenal handed Emile Smith Rowe the shirt number 10 at the beginning of the 2021/22 Season, it was greeted with mixed reactions.
I mean it’s good that the club was investing in the Youth and planning for the future but giving a shirt number that was vacated by a World Class Playmaker in Mesut Ozil to a Youngster that was still developing is quite a downgrade.
Chelsea
Chelsea haven’t had any playmaker or any Player that wears the shirt number 10 better than Eden Hazard since the Belgium International left in 2019.
He was the complete deal, he dribbles for fun, creates something out of nothing and more importantly, the fans loved him and the opponents feared him. The shirt number 10 at Chelsea now belongs to Christian Pulisic who has been struggling through injury and consistency at the club.
Manchester United
Marcus Rashford never really got over his abysmal performance in the final of the Europa league against Villarreal in 2021 in Gdansk, Poland.
That performance stayed with him throughout last season and he was a shadow of his usual self last season. It makes you wonder how a dull Player is wearing the same shirt number that Wayne Rooney wore in the Theatre of Dreams.
