Arsenal shirts are everywhere, from the streets of London to Rwanda, and even the odd fashion shoot – thanks to Hector Bellerin. They could be some of the more modern efforts or older classics, but no matter what, they’re always something to behold.
Until adidas came and saved Arsenal from PUMA, almost all of their recent shirts had been underwhelming, a break from tradition, or downright ugly. Fortunately, last season’s hark back to the classic ‘Bruised Banana’ shirt and the stylish home strip offered a break from the recent trend.
With Arsenal’s home kit for the 2020/21 season released – and looking just as beautiful as last season’s effort – all eyes turn to the away kit. With that in mind, here are Arsenal’s ten greatest away kits ever…
A slight break from tradition, but not too far, the gold and navy combination worked brilliantly and it was still close enough to Arsenal’s classic yellow and blue away colours.
Arsenal won a double that season too, beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final (sounds familiar) and then a memorable win at Old Trafford to clinch their second double in four seasons.
This was the shirt Arsenal wore when their invincible run came to an end at the hands of Manchester United, the same game they kicked poor-old Jose Antonio Reyes to bits.
Using the trademark Total 90 Nike template, it was hard to get those kits wrong. A bit too blue for many people, but the central badge, yellow trim and classic O2 sponsor were delightful.
Reportedly an ode to Arsenal’s long term link to the royal family, this was surprisingly far from any sort of tradition.
The purple and black combination worked wonderfully and somehow the red trim did too. This kit was worn the season that Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud joined the club, and it’ll be fondly remembered for a 2-0 Premier League win at Anfield – less so the loss to Bradford in the League Cup.
This will be much lower on this list than expected.
It’s a wacky and wonderful shirt worn by some Arsenal legends but… it’s a bit too wacky to be ranked much higher. Put it this way, you can’t really wear it with jeans.
The Gunners have had some tremendous away shirts and this one has become iconic, but separated from the ‘legend’, there are better shirts.
It’s still brilliant though.
Editor’s note: This was 90min’s pick as the best Arsenal kit of all time for our World Cup of Kits. Don’t blame us.
Some may ask ‘how can the remake be higher than the original?’, the key reasons are:
1. It came after years of PUMA terror.
2. To remake this shirt and modify it to fit into the modern era is arguably more impressive than the original design.
3. It is a beautiful shirt.
Simple.
Another remake of a classic away kit. This was Arsenal’s change strip ten years after the Invincible season, and harked back to the away kit from that year – but this time the remake doesn’t beat the original.
This was a really classy shirt, the collar was a nice touch and the stripy socks were a delight.
Mesut Ozil’s first season at Arsenal was played out in style wearing this kit.
This photo sums up this kit perfectly. Thierry Henry in the long-sleeves, navy gloves and blue boots – it can’t get more iconic.
Arsenal tore it up in this kit, winning the league unbeaten that year. Whilst Henry – scandalously – came second in the Ballon d’Or to Pavel Nedved.
It was a simple kit, but a beautiful one.
Arsenal wore this kit in their only ever Champions League final, for that reason it may be hard for Arsenal’s fans to look at it for too long.
If you take away the game this shirt is remembered for, it really is a fantastic effort from Nike. Again a play on tradition, the kit used the classic yellow for away shirts, but paired it with a dark grey that made this kit truly unique.
This was the last time Arsenal wore O2 on their shirts, and it was a fitting send-off.
This shirt just screams Dennis Bergkamp.
The Dutchman and his Arsenal teammates wore this the year of their first double win – it was a shirt fit for champions.
That golden yellow with the navy and red work so well, and just look at that stripe across the middle. How can something so simple look so good?
This is a truly spellbinding kit.
Due to the Bruised Banana being worn the year before, this shirt is often overlooked, and that is a travesty.
Once again the combination of golden yellow, navy blue and red is delightful, but it’s that classic 90s graphic that brings the ‘wow’ factor. The trademark three stripes of adidas run diagonally across the shirt, forming a sash. To make matters even better they feature at the bottom of the shorts too.
adidas smashed it out of the park with this one.
Let’