The weird and wonderful list of players who have taken Arsenal’s No.36 shirt

Arsenal’s long-anticipated signing of Martin Zubimendi has finally arrived. The news also came with the revelation that the Spaniard will be wearing No.36 for the Gunners.

The 26-year-old chose that number as it was the first one given to him when he made his Real Sociedad debut back in April 2019 but he is one of a surprisingly long list of players to have donned the number for the North London club.

Here’s every player to have worn the No.36 for Arsenal and what they’re up to these days.

Jehad Muntasser

Arsenal first started wearing numbered shirts back in August 1928 but the first time the No.36 was worn came much later in 1997.

It was worn by Jehad Muntasser, who became the first Libyan player in Premier League history but the attacking midfielder only made one appearance, from the bench against Birmingham.

He was sold to Birmingham the next month before leaving England for Empoli in 1999.

Muntasser played for 12 clubs in total before retiring in 2011. After his playing career was done, he created a football talent show called The Victorious which was designed to discover hidden Arab talents.

Muntasser was also the grandson of Mahmud al-Muntasir, the Prime Minister of Libya from 1964 to 1965.

Brian McGovern

The next player to where No.36 would also make just one Arsenal appearance as Brian McGovern featured against Newcastle in May 2000.

The Irish defender left Highbury a few weeks later to join Norwich then played at Peterborough United before moving back to Ireland.

McGovern’s career came to an end in 2006.

Jermaine Pennant

The first recognisable name on this list comes in the form of mercurial winger Jermaine Pennant.

Having worn the No.29 for his first two seasons at the club, Pennant swapped to 36 for the 2000-01 campaign. However, his game time was limited and by the time he left Arsenal in 2005, he had made just 26 appearances in six seasons.

After Arsenal, he moved to Birmingham before becoming a starter at Liverpool, playing 52 times in his first year at Anfield.

However, his minutes dropped dramatically and he spent a year in Spain with Real Zaragoza before returning to England with Stoke.

Pennant would go on to play for six more clubs, including the likes of Tampines Rovers and Billericay Town before retiring in 2018.

These days, he works as a pundit mostly for talkSPORT.

John Halls

After Pennant switched back to the No.29, John Halls took the No.36.

The Islington-born defender came through the Arsenal youth academy but would never make a league appearance for Arsene Wenger’s team, instead playing just three League Cup games.

Halls left for Stoke in 2003 where he made 69 league appearances before spending time at a number of Football League clubs.

The final one of those was Wycombe Wanderers before Hall retired in 2012. Since then, Halls has set up his own model company and has done work across Europe and the US.

Johan Djourou

Next to don the No.26 was Ivorian Johan Djourou.

The sometimes good, sometimes hapless defender was at Arsenal for 11 years, making his first team debut in 2004 against Everton in a League Cup match, and he wore the No.36 for just one season in 2005/06 as Arsenal finished fourth in the Premier League.

By the time the defender left in 2013, he had made 140 appearances for the North London club.

Spells across Europe followed before he retired in 2021 having most recently played for Danish club Nordsjælland.

Since hanging up his boots, he has started his own football camps as well as launching a business podcast called “Face Au Miroir” (Facing the Mirror) but the last episode was released in 2022.

Mark Randall

He may have grown up a Tottenham fan but Mark Randall moved to Arsenal in 2001, having previously been a part of the Northampton Town academy.

Touted as a key Arsenal player of the future by Wenger, he did not live up to his expectations and played just twice in the league for the club before a series of loans elsewhere.

The 35-year-old is still playing having joined Northern Irish side Larne in 2019.

Thomas Cruise

No, not that one.

While his namesake is busy jumping off planes or burning buildings, Thomas Cruise’s career as a professional footballer seems comparatively mundane.

Another Islington-born player, the 6ft left back joined Arsenal in 2007 but would never make a Premier League appearance for the club. Instead, he played just once in the Champions League group stage after Arsenal had already qualified.

He moved to Carlisle on loan for the 2010/11 season before joining Torquay United in 2012.

After his career in football was done, Cruise trained to be an accountant.

He said: “I’ve always been really good with numbers, so the decision to choose accountancy was a no-brainer. I wish to enter this field of work once I complete my qualification, and am very excited to see what I can achieve.”

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Emiliano Martinez

During his 10 years at Arsenal, Emi Martinez wore three different numbers but it was his maiden season in the first team that saw him with the No.36 on his back.

Granted, actually seeing him in it was a rarity as he made just two League Cup appearances before switching to the No.26.

The future World Cup winner would have to wait until the 2019-20 season and an injury to Bernd Leno before making his breakthrough and having impressed, he was bought by Aston Villa in the summer of 2020.

The Argentine now looks set to move on from Villa Park having played 212 times, all with the No.23 on his back.

Ismael Bennacer

The current Milan midfielder joined Arsenal in 2015 but played just a single time for the club.

He moved on loan to Ligue 2 side Tours but found better form in Italy first at Empoli and then Milan. Playing for the red side of the city, he made 178 appearances before moving to Marseille on loan for the final months of last season.

Tommy Setford

The second goalkeeper on this list is Tommy Setford who is still at the club having joined in 2024.

The Dutch keeper came through the Ajax academy but finished his training with Arsenal and in October 2024, he made his senior debut against Preston in the League Cup.

Setford wore the No.26 last season but has given it up at Zubimendi’s request.

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