Arsenal’s players are in black for their north London derby against Tottenham (AP)
Arsenal have been forced to wear their black away kit for the north London derby against Tottenham on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s side would typically play in their red home kit in their away game against Spurs.
However, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and the Premier League deem there to be too much white on Arsenal’s home shirt, which would cause a potential clash with Spurs’ home strip.
Therefore, Arsenal have been ordered to play in their black away kit, which made its successful debut in the 2-0 win against Aston Villa last month.
When asked about the enforced change, Arteta said: ‘It’s not ideal.
‘We wanted to play with our home kit and colours but we will adapt. We did it against Villa and we won. Hopefully it will bring good luck as well.’
Arsenal are prevented from wearing their home shirt against Spurs because there is too much white on display (AFP via Getty)
‘This season’s north London derbies will have a similar feel to them with the usual excitement and passion, however they will have a different look than seasons gone by,’ a statement from Arsenal read.
‘That’s because both teams will be wearing their away strips in the fixtures this campaign, after the PGMOL and Premier League ruled that our 2024/25 home kit features too much white, thus clashing with Tottenham’s traditional colours, even with the option of red shorts and socks for us, which was also discussed.
‘As a result, for the first time in recent ‘NLD’ history, we’ll be wearing our changed colours, with our black adidas away kit being donned at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where we’ll aim to clinch a third-straight victory at the venue.
‘Our adidas away strip for this season has already got off to a winning start when we wore it for the first time in competitive action against Aston Villa last month.
‘It has been designed to celebrate the rich and well-established connection that our club has to the African diaspora in North London and beyond.
‘Designed in collaboration with adidas and distinguished British African heritage brand, Labrum London, it celebrates our players and supporters of African heritage, who are an instrumental part of our club.
‘The decision by the PGMOL and Premier League will also mean Tottenham will wear different colours when they visit Emirates Stadium in January.’
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