Ranking Arsenal’s 10 Best Kits of All Time: Retro Rises to the Top

Arsenal’s colors are unmistakable: Red and white. It’s a combination the Gunners are known for the world over.

While that pairing has remained the foundation of most home kits through the years, the club has never been afraid to experiment—adding subtle flourishes, bold reinterpretations and forward-thinking design touches to refresh a timeless look.

When it comes to away and third strips, Arsenal may boast one of the strongest collections of weird, wacky and wonderful kits in Premier League history—if not world soccer.

Here, Sports Illustrated ranks the 10 best Arsenal kits of all time, from the elegantly simple to the daring and unforgettable.

10. adidas is Back (2019-20, Home)

Mesut Ozil — Arsenal returned to adidas in 2019. | IMAGO/PA Images

After 25 years with Nike and PUMA, Arsenal reunited with adidas for the 2019–20 season—and the comeback was a triumph.

The design tipped its hat to classic early–Premier League adidas kits while feeling slick and modern: A bold red body, crisp white sleeves and a smart white collar trimmed with red and black. The iconic three stripes returned proudly across the shoulders, completing a look that blended nostalgia with freshness.

It marked Mikel Arteta’s first season in charge—and ended with FA Cup glory, giving the kit instant classic status.

9. A Bolt from the Blue (1994-95, Away)

Dennis Bergkamp — Pure '90s madness. | IMAGO/Colorsport

The same season they unveiled an electric-style home shirt (more on that shortly), Arsenal also rolled out an equally high-voltage away kit.

Where the home design was a bit more restrained—albeit still eye-catching—the away version truly pushed the boundaries. It featured a bold split of deep navy and patterned lighter blue, divided by jagged, lightning-bolt-style stripes slicing down the front.

Finished with sharp red trims and a watercolor-style Arsenal crest washed across the chest, it was daring, distinctive and unapologetically different.

8. Stunning in Sega (2001-02, Away)

Sylvain Wiltord — Wiltord was a cult hero for Arsenal. | Getty/Mark Leech

Between 1999 and 2002, Arsenal experimented with dual branding on their kits: Dreamcast featured on their home shirts, while Sega appeared on the away strips, coinciding with the global launch of the Sega Dreamcast console.

Much like the console itself, the Gunners’ striking gold, Sega-sponsored away kit of 2001–02 was a showstopper.

Bold, memorable and unmistakably early-2000s, it has since become a cult classic—especially as Arsenal went on to lift the league and FA Cup double wearing it.

7. A Modern Classic (2022-23, Away)

Bukayo Saka — Saka stunned in this kit. | IMAGO/PA Images

As time has gone on, Premier League kits have become increasingly intricate—in technology, design and inspiration—with clubs constantly looking for ways to honor their heritage and community. Some succeed brilliantly; others fall flat.

Arsenal’s 2022–23 kit is very much in the former category.

For the first time in club history, it combined black and gold, featuring a striking geometric “AFC” pattern inspired by the lettering visible to fans on the way to Emirates Stadium. A tribute to the club’s overseas supporters, the “Little Islingtons,” it also carries meaningful links to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Stylish and significant.

6. Pure & Simple (1967-78, Home)

Arsenal 1970 — Bring back kits like these, we say. | IMAGO/Colorsport

It’s customary to tip the cap to a club’s earliest kits in lists like these. After all, they helped shape the club’s identity, and their stripped-back designs and classic color palettes have a timeless quality that still holds up today.

Arsenal’s home shirts of the 1960s and ’70s were a perfect example: A bold red body paired with crisp white sleeves and collar, finished with a minimalist cannon crest and little else. No frills, no clutter—just pure, unmistakable Arsenal.

5. Gunners Go Geometric (2002-03, Away)

Thierry Henry — A real stunner. The kit, we mean ... | IMAGO/Geoff Martin

First introduced as Arsenal’s away kit for the 2002–03 season before being repurposed as their third strip during the Invincibles campaign a year later, this bold blue number was daring by early-2000s standards.

A sweeping vertical panel carried a sharp geometric pattern, trimmed neatly with flashes of red for contrast.

Though built on Nike’s familiar Total 90 template—shared with several of Arsenal’s kits at the time—this one had a personality all its own. Distinctive, modern and effortlessly cool.

4. Simply Electric (1994-1996, Home)

Arsenal players — The electric stripes are there, trust us. | IMAGO

A perfect snapshot of why ’90s kits were so special—equal parts tradition, experimentation and just a little bit wild—Arsenal’s 1994–96 home shirt had everything.

The classic red-and-white base was elevated by a striking zig-zag pattern woven into the fabric, while chunky white collars and sleeve cuffs gave it real presence. The traditional club crest sat proudly on the chest and on the back, a dramatic gothic “Arsenal” script stretched boldly across the shoulders—unapologetic and unforgettable.

3. The Invincibles (2002-04, Home)

Patrick Vieira — Bit hot, Patrick? | Getty/Stuart MacFarlane

The 2003–04 Premier League season will forever be remembered for Arsenal’s unbeaten march to the title—the Invincibles rewriting history in unforgettable fashion. And they did it wearing an absolute classic, a shirt first introduced the year before but immortalized by what followed.

Built on Nike’s iconic Total 90 template—complete with elegant gold piping and a centrally placed club crest—the kit was clean, bold and captured both the swagger and supremacy of Arsène Wenger’s side.

Nike and Arsenal, at the height of their powers, delivering a design as flawless as the season itself.

2. Maroon Madness (2005-06, Home)

Not since the 1950s—when the club briefly experimented with blue and white—had Arsenal strayed from their traditional red home shirts. Then came 2005–06, when they marked their final season at Highbury, their home of 93 years, with a striking maroon and gold design.

Elegant and regal, the kit carried a sense of occasion. It felt like a tribute to the club’s rich past, wrapped in something bold yet respectful. The result was an instant classic—remembered not only for its refined look, but for the deep historical significance it carried as Arsenal bid farewell to a beloved era.

1. Bruised Banana (1991-93, Away)

Arsenal's 'Bruised Banana' kit is worn by Ian Wright. — Arsenal's “Bruised Banana” kit is famous. | Getty/Gray Mortimor

If you described something as looking like a “bruised banana”—splashed in streaks of yellow and black—you probably wouldn’t expect it to be stylish.

Yet Arsenal’s unforgettable 1991–93 away kit turned that unlikely palette into pure gold.

The jagged zig-zag pattern popped against the bold yellow base, while the classic fold-over collar, Trefoil logo, retro club crest and minimalist sponsor gave it timeless appeal. What could have been garish became iconic—a daring shirt that perfectly captured the swagger of early-’90s Arsenal.