Emi Martinez picks new Chelsea shirt number despite John Terry blessing

That is despite initially choosing the No26 and remarking that the legacy of Chelsea legend John Terry in that shirt partly explained why.But the decision has now been made to award Martinez with No1, and he has been pictured holding the shirt with his new number for the first time.Chelsea insisted all summer that they were content to head into the new season with Robert Sanchez and Mike Penders and their first- and second-choice goalkeepers for the 2026-27 campaign.Emi Martinez wore the No26 for one match before switching to the No1PABut Sanchez made two key errors on opening night as Chelsea won 3-2 at Fulham and that led the club to make a U-turn in their decision.When Martinez was offered to the club by intermediaries, Chelsea took up the option to sign him and paid £7.5m to do so.He wore No26 on his debut in the 4-3 win over Brighton last weekend but is now set to wear No1 if he starts against Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday.Sanchez was informed he could leave the club after Martinez’s arrival and has been loaned to Como in Italy.It was Sanchez who was previously the Chelsea No1 and occupied the shirt.A statement revealing the kit number change stated: “In recognition of the change, and those impacted, Emi has kindly offered to sign all ‘Martinez 26’ shirts that had been obtained via the official Club Megastore or official Club website.”