The kit leaks are getting out of hand and the fans can’t get enough. After some pretty disastrous kits, some questionable ones, and some really good ones, another one has joined the ranks. The latest inclusion in the world of leaked kits is Arsenal’s away one.
The Gunners are flying high this season and are in contention for the title after two long decades. Therefore the fans wanted the kit next season to reflect the mood in the club.
Adidas, Arsenal’s kit manufacturer since 2019, has probably lost the mark in that aspect, at least as per the reception of the away kit. What’s wrong with the kit? That’s what we are here to discuss!
The kit itself, as leaked by Footy Headlines, has a palette of different colours with black, red, and green dominating it.
The body of the shirt appears to be black with a wavy motif in black and white going up from the underarm area to the shoulder.
The sponsor’s name placeholder is white and looks bold against the black background. However, it is not this that has drawn the criticism.
The shoulder of it has three stripes, characteristic of Adidas, where the first and third are in lawn green colours and the one in the middle is in blood red. The same theme runs in the collar as well. The crest and Adidas badge are in red and green respectively.
The kit, although moves away from the wavy design of this season, and looks rather noticeable. The design language is clean and crisp and despite having a rather stark palette, it doesn’t look overdone. The design does have a Caribbean ethos to it with the bold colours.
According to multiple reports, it is Adidas’s attempt to pay homage to club greats and best friends, David Rocastle and Ian Wright. The two were born four years apart in two sides of London. Rocastle was born in Lewisham and Wright hailed from Woolwich. The two colours represent their friendship as both have roots in the Caribbean islands and grew up together in London.
The manufacturer foreshadowed the kit earlier as limited edition trainers in 2022. The pair, based on the ZX series embodied the friendship between Wright and Rocastle. There were 1991 pairs, representing the year when the duo played together in Arsenal, launched in September 2022.
Wright had said, “Rocky and I grew up together, playing football on our estate, before eventually playing together at Arsenal. We were best friends and 21 years since he left us, I still miss and think about him every day. Rocky is the reason our whole estate supported Arsenal and he taught me what it meant to be an Arsenal player.”
The fans, however, are not pleased with the shirt. Despite the emotional undertone behind the shirt, the fans found the colour scheme to be too bright for their liking. The shirt’s uncanny resemblance with Lynx Africa deodorant also did not help the cause. While most were rather shocked to see the colours, it is certainly better than the current away kit, with its fluorescent green and black lines.