Lacazette must end the curse of the Arsenal No.9 shirt

The striker's squad number has been announced following his arrival in north London, but he must manage expectation better than his predecessors

Many great Premier League strikers have worn the No.9 shirt with distinction in their time - Alan Shearer, Andrew Cole, Fernando Torres and, most recently, Zlatan Ibrahimovic have all thrived with that number on their backs.

'Alexis will definitely stay at Arsenal'

However, the same cannot be said at , with a whole host of No.9s coming and going without having made the impact Arsene Wenger would have liked.

Since the 1999-2000 season when World Cup Golden Boot holder Davor Suker arrived in north London, the No.9 has been a hinderence rather than a help for players such as Jose Antonio Reyes, Eduardo da Silva and Lukas Podolski.

Arsenal have now announced that club-record signing Alexandre Lacazette will be taking up the mantle , and supporters will be praying he does not follow the same path as his predecessors.

Season Player PL Apps PL Goals 1999-00 Davor Suker 22 8 2000-01 N/A 0 0 2001-02 Francis Jeffers 6 2 2002-03 Francis Jeffers 16 2 2003-04 Jose Antonio Reyes 13 2 2004-05 Jose Antonio Reyes 30 9 2005-06 Jose Antonio Reyes 26 5 2006-07 Julio Baptista 24 3 2007-08 Eduardo 17 4 2008-09 Eduardo 0 0 2009-10 Eduardo 24 2 2010-11 N/A 0 0 2011-12 Park Chu-Young 1 0 2012-13 Lukas Podolski 33 11 2013-14 Lukas Podolski 20 8 2014-15 Lukas Podolski 7 0 2015-16 N/A 0 0 2016-17 Lucas Perez 11 1

In the 18 seasons since Suker's arrival, Arsenal's No.9s have managed to score a combined 57 Premier League goals, with only Podolski in 2012-13 managing to reach double figures in a single campaign.

Amid rumours that both Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud could depart this summer, Arsenal cannot afford for their new star striker to flop, though he could yet follow in the footsteps of the previous Frenchman to wear the No.9.

Lacazette's compatriot Nicolas Anelka shone under Wenger before earning himself a move to in 1999, and if Lacazette can match his performances then the £46 million spent on the former forward will have paid off.