The Qatar World Cup happening in November has put a complete stop to the club football scene across the world.
Indeed, most of the top leagues are on hiatus for a month or so as the players scrap for the most lucrative competition in the sport.
But the work for those involved in the branding and merchandise for football teams has hardly been put to a stop.
The manufacturers and designers for the kits worn by clubs are hard at work putting the final touches to what will be the attire for major football sides next season.
Of course, we are still almost a year away until the 2023/24 season begins, but for big-shot manufacturers like Adidas and Nike – time is of the essence.
They are hard at work in finalising the design for the major European clubs’ jerseys for next season – before getting final approval and then starting to manufacture it before distribution can begin in the summer of 2023.
It also seems like Adidas are putting special attention to quickly readying the home kit for Premier League leaders, Arsenal. The Gunners have had an amazing start to the 2022/23 season, blowing away expectations.
Mikel Arteta’s side are currently on top of the league table with 37 points from 14 games, which helps them sit 5 points behind title rivals and reigning PL champions, Manchester City.
Arsenal have earned the reputation for having some of the most aesthetically pleasing kits in Europe over the last few years.
The association with Adidas, which started in 2018, has been a hit so far. It also seems like Adidas aspires to maintain its tradition of producing slick attires for the Premier League leaders for the upcoming campaign as well.
An early leak of Adidas’ design for Arsenal’s home kit for 2023/24 has recently been released.
As is the tradition, the kit features the Gunners’ iconic red and white colours. It has a red-coloured body with white sleeves and red stripes joining in on the round-neck area.
But there is an odd feature in the overall design. It seems Adidas will include state-of-the-art raglan sleeves for the new Arsenal home kit.
A raglan sleeve, named after former British Army officer Lord FitzRoy Somerset – or Lord Raglan, is a sleeve that extends to the neckline with slanted seams from the underarm to the neck.
Old sponsors Puma were renowned for producing kits with Raglan sleeves but that tradition stopped when Adidas came into the picture.
Thisleaked pic is still probably not the final version, as the German company might want to make a few tiny final additions to make it look more appealing to the fans.
Adidas are planning to release the Gunners’ 23/24 home kit in May 2023. This might mean that it could be released before the end of the current season, with Arteta’s side even debuting it in their final league game against Wolves on 28 May.
Fans will hope that the Gunners are also able to lift the Premier League trophy aloft on that day to give a double present to them.