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Why Arsenal Are Wearing an Unusual Kit Combo for Champions League Opener

The Gunners will don an unfamiliar kit combination in Bilbao.

James Cormack

Arsenal’s Champions League campaign begins on Tuesday evening in Bilbao.
Arsenal’s Champions League campaign begins on Tuesday evening in Bilbao. / Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Arsenal are preparing for just their third Champions League campaign under Mikel Arteta‘s tutelage, yet the Spaniard’s side already feel like veterans of the competition.

The Gunners once persistently sat at Europe’s top table, but their demise at the end of Arsène Wenger‘s reign sparked a lengthy Champions League absence.

A humiliating home defeat to Bayern Munich was associated with Tony Britten’s iconic anthem before a surprise Premier League title bid in 2022–23 cemented their return to the competition after six years away.

Arsenal have since earned quarterfinal and semifinal berths, and few would suggest they aren’t capable of staging another deep continental run in 2025–26 off the back of an aggressive summer transfer window. Arteta’s side begin their league phase away at Athletic Club on Tuesday evening, and supporters may be treated to a rather unusual viewing experience as a result of UEFA’s strict kit clash rules.

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Why Arsenal Are Wearing Unusual Kit for vs. Athletic Club

Arsenal will debut their new navy away kit in the Basque Country at the start of the league phase, but they won’t be wearing the navy shorts and socks that accompany it, as was the case in their preseason friendly against Newcastle United.

While Athletic Club are once again donning a red and white-striped home shirt, their black shorts and socks have been deemed too significant a clash with Arsenal’s navy by UEFA.

As a result, the Gunners will instead wear alternate silver shorts and socks with their navy shirt.

This unique look will be unfamiliar to many, but some might remember Arsenal wearing white shorts and socks with their navy O2 away shirt during their trip to the Stadio Olimpico in November 2002. On that night, Thierry Henry netted a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory over Roma.

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James Cormack
JAMES CORMACK

James Cormack is a Sports Illustrated Soccer freelance writer with an avid interest in tactical and player analysis. As well as supporting Spurs religiously, he follows Italian and German football, taking particular interest in the work of Antonio Conte & Julian Nagelsmann.

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