Olivier Giroud to get the 'cursed' Arsenal number 9 shirt?

Providing Robin van Persie does not leave the Emirates, this could be developing into a successful summer for the Gunners.

With Podolski signed and Giroud all-but done, Gunners fans can be hopeful that a re-invigorated attack leads them to silverware next season.

Van Persie was almost asked to lead the line on his own last season, such was Wenger's reluctance to use Chamakh and Park Chu-Young.

It says everything about Arsenal's lack of depth in attack that Park Chu-Young is the current owner of the Arsenal number 9 shirt. You can bet he won't be wearing it when the season kicks off.

The Korean barely featured last season, registering a sole goal in the League Cup, and there is pressure from his homeland for the player to secure a move to play regular football for the sake of his international career, and few supporters would begrudge him that.

That would leave his shirt up for grabs, and Olivier Giroud would be the perfect candidate to take it and shake of the supposed 'curse' - after leading the line for Montpellier where he won the league title in France he would not want to shirk the responsibility.

Not since Nicolas Anelka's early success at Arsenal have they had a striker who has had any luck wearing the shirt, and even then the Frenchman chose not to fulfill his potential with the club.

The roll call of number nine's since then has been mixed to say the least. Davor Suker should have been excellent but struggled for form and fitness, before one of the biggest flops to grace the Premier League in recent years Francis Jeffers wore the shirt.

He was not so much the billed 'fox in the box' more of a cat in a sack, scoring just four goals for Arsenal and is now a free agent. Jose Antonio Reyes then took the number nine shirt, and had his moments, but chose to move on from the club as soon as the opportunity presented itself and head back to Spain - and was overall underwhelming considering his large transfer fee.

Julio 'the beast' Baptista had a disappointing season wearing the number nine, before Croatian striker Eduardo da Silva finally looked to have nailed it, but after a horrific leg break he was never the same again.

Park Chu-Young's disappointment has only re-inforced the bad lack surrounding the shirt, so if Olivier Giroud is handed the number - he will hope to change recent history and become a big success.

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image: © lodekka