Arsenal announces new signing Heather O’Reilly’s shirt number

Arsenal signed World Cup winner, former USWNT star, and generally all-around good soccer player Heather O’Reilly yesterday, bringing a smile to the face of pretty much any Arsenal fan who also follows the United States’ national soccer team that occasionally actually wins stuff. But with every new signing comes a tradition unlike any other – the shirt number reveal. Here it is:

Usually I like to have a look at who’s shared numbers with new signings. Sadly, unlike the men’s squad, I can’t find a historical record of who’s worn which shirt number for the women’s team, so I can’t quite do that properly. But a few pretty notable male Gunners have worn the 17 shirt, so at least there’s that – Emmanuel Petit wore it in Arsène Wenger’s early days, and Edu wore it for the Invincibles. Nacho Monreal briefly wore 17, and Alex Iwobi is now its keeper. But most importantly, it’s the shirt that Alexis Sanchez initially wore at Arsenal before taking the 7 shirt (and yes, I am intentionally ignoring Alex Song).

If anyone happens to know who’s worn 17 for Arsenal Ladies in the past, please share, because not having that information may drive me mad.