Arsenal will revive a familiar but rarely seen look when they begin their Champions League campaign against Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Mikel Arteta’s side are set to wear their traditional red home shirt with matching red shorts and socks, a combination the Gunners have not used for four years.
The last time Arsenal wore the full-red combination was in March 2022, when they defeated Watford 3-2 at Vicarage Road.
Gunners bring back full-red look
Several members of the Arsenal side from that Watford victory remain at the club, including Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
Gabriel Martinelli was also involved that day and scored the winning goal, but the Brazilian completed a £60million move to Al-Hilal last week.
Goalkeeper David Raya is expected to start against Napoli and will wear an all-grey kit as Arsenal attempt to keep the Serie A side from finding the net.
The unusual kit choice adds another talking point to a Champions League opener that sees Arsenal begin their latest attempt to win Europe’s biggest club competition.
Arsenal arrive in Italy in strong form
The Gunners came agonisingly close to European glory last season, reaching the Champions League final before losing to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.
Arteta’s team are determined to go one step further this time and have made an excellent start to the new campaign.
Arsenal maintained their perfect domestic record with a comeback victory over Chelsea, having already beaten Coventry and Aston Villa earlier in the season.
Their preparations for the trip to Naples were not entirely smooth, however, after air traffic control problems delayed the team’s arrival in Italy.
The squad had been scheduled to land in time for Arteta’s press conference at 7:15pm local time on Tuesday, but the disruption meant they arrived later than planned.
With Bayern Munich and Real Madrid among the sides Arsenal could face during the league phase, Arteta will hope the return of the full-red kit proves a good omen as his team begin another bid for European success.
