With the deal still yet to be officially announced, an interview with Kai Havertz has leaked on social media, showing the player wearing the Arsenal shirt.
As a result, we have confirmation of the player’s shirt number at Arsenal, with the German international planning to wear the number 29 once again.
“So I have had it now for some years,” Havertz said. “I chose it when I became a professional in Germany. And since then, it’s always given me luck.
“You know, when I became professional I took it because it has some history with my brother. We used to take it always when we played some video games together.
“So, yeah, since then I just took it, and for me, I think it’s the perfect number and I love to wear it in a red shirt again.”
Havertz has worn the number 29 throughout his professional career so far, taking the shirt at Bayer Leverkusen, then Chelsea, and now Arsenal.
The only exception is on international duty, where the numbers generally only go up to 23 or 26, given that’s the size of the international squads.
Havertz generally wears the number seven with Germany at the moment.
But on a club basis, the number 29 is often available to take up. Arsenal have only utilised the number in nine of the last 20 seasons, so it’s been up for grabs more often than not.
Seb Larsson, Marouane Chamakh, Kim Kallstrom, Granit Xhaka, and Matteo Guendouzi have been the five players to wear the shirt during that period.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Havertz signed all the documents to make him an Arsenal player on Monday, with the Gunners and Chelsea having completed all the club-to-club documentation on Sunday.
As a result, an official announcement is expected soon.