Think football and the first reference image that comes to your mind are the team jerseys. For every player on the field and every fan in the world, the player kits hold tremendous meaning and pride. An association which reflects this pride was the one between Arsenal and adidas.
It has been more than 2 decades since Arsenal last wore adidas player kits. Over the years the players have changed, the manager has changed and the colours on the jersey have also changed, but one thing has remained consistent – the spirit of Gunner pride.
With the 2019-20 season upon us, adidas and Arsenal are teaming up once again, with the club hoping to bring back the glory days they saw between 1986 and 1994 in their adidas jerseys. Here’s a quick throwback to those years, and how the jersey became a part of Gunner folklore.
Initially, just before the association between Arsenal and adidas, the club’s board was resistant to use the famous 3-stripes of adidas due to the potential similarity with Liverpool (a rival club), until eventually in 1986 the stripes made their way on the sleeves and shorts with the adidas trefoil. If you’re a Gunner, you most definitely will recall the glorious home jerseys winning 2-1 against Liverpool at Wembley (picture below).
Come 1988-90 and the kits evolved. The shirts had a raglan sleeve with an outlined JVC logo and large blue panels on the shorts. While the jerseys weren’t met with universal approval, the fact that the same jersey won the League Championship in 1989 meant that soon it became a crowd favourite! The 1990-92 kit too saw more evolution than a revolution. The white shoulders remained but the stripes switched from red to navy and the neck became more rounded.
The bruised banana was retained for the first Premier League campaign in 1992-93. Arsenal also used a traditional style squad numbering in the league games and a more blockier font at Wembley. In 1993-94 the squad numbering became a more classic adidas style. The last new Arsenal shirts produced by adidas in 1993-94 continued the pattern of aggressive style. Arsenal went on to win FA Cup and League Cup in 1993 with the iconic home jerseys, both against Sheffield Wednesday. In 1994 Arsenal won the European Cup Winners Cup in the same home jerseys (picture below).
Now in 2019, a full 25 years later the two iconic brands are partnering once again to write a new chapter of success. This partnership was introduced by Ranveer Singh, who himself is a huge Arsenal fan. He revealed the brand new jersey which has been inspired by the iconic adidas jerseys from the past, and yet has a fresh, contemporary design.
The all-new kit design for the 2019/20 season features a classic red body, complimented by the famous white sleeves. The white high collar design is emblazoned with a central red stripe and black trimming. This design is repeated on both sleeves and the distinctive 3-stripes run across the shoulder in bright white.
To give Arsenal fans in India, a reason to celebrate, adidas has introduced ‘Free Personalization’ with every Jersey purchase. Get yours at selected store as well as here – https://bit.ly/2G5ACEX
