Arsenal FC Kit History: The Evolution of the Gunners’ Iconic Shirts

Arsenal FC Kit History

In 1886, before the club became professional, a small group of Nottingham Forest players, Fred Beardsley, Bill Barr, and Charlie Bates, joined Dial Square FC (the club’s first name) and brought their old red kit with them.

Working on a limited budget, the club decided that the cheapest way to obtain the strip was to have the team cut in the same color as the previous Forest players. This original set consists of a deep red shirt with long sleeves, a collar, and three buttons in the front. The shirt was worn with white knee-length shorts and heavy wool socks with blue and white collars. The goalkeeper wore the same uniform except for the shirt, which was a handmade cream wool polo neck sweater.

This was the dark red kit worn by the team during their first season at Highbury in 1913/14. The generosity of Beardsley, Barr, and Betts in providing shirts and encouraging the club to play in red inspired many other teams to follow Arsenal’s example. The most famous example of this is the city of Sparta Prague, whose president, Dr. Patrick, visited London in 1906. Volos returned home to Czechoslovakia after watching Arsenal and was so impressed with the kit that he demanded his team play in the same color. Today, Sparta Prague continues to play in the same dark red kit, not unlike Arsenal’s red kit in the 2005/2006 season.

It was the arrival of manager Herbert Chapman in 1925, “the great innovator”, who launched the Arsenal Group as we know it today. As you might imagine, Chapman saw someone on the floor wearing a red sleeveless jacket over a white shirt or playing golf with the famous cartoonist of the time, Tom Webster, who was wearing something similar. Either way, the ‘look’ inspired the manager to create a new shirt that combined a red shirt with a white collar and sleeves. It also added the club badge, which was placed on the left side of the shirt.

A second kit was developed in the 1950s with opposing local teams wearing similar kits to combat any color clashes. Around 1960, the club moved away from the knit rugby shirt style to a new knit cotton shirt.

“It was the arrival in 1925 of manager Herbert Chapman, ‘the great innovator’, that launched the Arsenal kit as we know it today. It is said that Chapman saw a figure on the ground wearing a red sleeveless jumper over a white shirt, which inspired the manager to create a new shirt with a red stripe and a bunny-shaped shirt.”

The famous club crest first appeared on the shirt in 1967. With this shirt, Arsenal won their first famous ‘double’ in the League Championship and the FA Cup in the 1970/71 season. In the late 1970s, the kit manufacturer’s logo appeared on the shirt for the first time, in this case, “Umbro”. In 1981, JVC became the club’s first shirt sponsor, eventually giving way to Dreamcast in 2000.

Two years later, O2 replaced the gaming company before Fly Emirates began its sponsorship in 2006. The contract will last for eight years. In the 2005/06 season, to commemorate the club’s final season at Highbury, Arsenal’s home base since 1913, the Gunners wore a special ‘Red Currant’ shirt. Designed to honor the club’s kit colors for Highbury’s first season, it was decorated with gold lettering and was accompanied by white shorts and red socks.
For the 2006/07 season, Emirates Stadium saw a welcome return to the famous red and white colors – although later strips featured red. The current remains somewhat constant.

Arsenal home kit – history

In the 2007/08 season, the club launched a white shirt with red shorts kit, in tribute to Herbert Chapman’s influence on the club. Designed for, along with a Red Currant and Navy third kit believed to be Arsenal’s first eye-catching effort. Chapman’s inspired kit sparked reminders that he was the first to introduce white sleeves on the Gunners’ shirts, and was also a pioneer in the design of collared socks – which he believed would help players recognize each other more easily.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the title win at Anfield, the yellow and blue away kit is modeled after the kit worn on that famous night of 26 May 1989. For the 2009/10 season, the away kit features a ‘midnight blue’ design, including a polo collar inspired by the All Virgin kit. As with the current home kit, the club crest bears the ‘Victoria Concordia Cresset’ inside the neck. The 125th Anniversary Home Shirts for the 2011/12 season embody the spirit and history of Arsenal Football Club, with the new home shirt featuring a bespoke logo to highlight the club’s proud 125-year-old origins.

The Arsenal away kit – A history

Founded in Woolwich in 1886 and known as the Royal Arsenal, the festive design features 15 laurel leaves to the left of the club crest, echoing the detail on the back of the sixpence coin that 15 men paid to found the club. The fifteen oak leaves to the right of the logo acknowledge the founders who would meet at the local Royal Oak pub. Below the crest is one of the oldest recorded arms and battle emblems – “Forward” – with the anniversary dates of 1886 and 2011 on either side of the shirt’s heart.

The classic design is inspired by 70s stripes and features a clean, sleek look with a red body and red speed stripe detail with white sleeves. The shorts are white with a red speed stripe. The word “Arsenal” is written on the back of the shirt below the neck, while on the inner side of the front, on the back of the crest, are the words “Victoria Concordia Cresset”, (“Victory through Harmony”), Arsenal’s Latin motto, which previously appeared in the first version of the club’s crest between 1949 and 2020.

Arsenal’s 2012/13 home kit features blue-collar detailing inspired by the socks of the home kit worn in the 1930s under legendary manager Herbert Chapman.

As is usual with the North London club, the world-famous red and white shirt is the primary color, with a red body and white sleeves.

Additional details on the shirt include a back neck graphic that references the WM formation that Chapman pioneered so successfully, as well as an internal back graphic that reads ‘Victoria, Concordia, Cresset’ – the club’s longstanding motto from 1948 which translates as victory through harmony.
The origin of the blue (obsidian) design goes back to Chapman’s innovative approach to the game. He was Arsenal’s manager between 1925 and 1934, and his leadership saw the club win three league titles and an FA Cup during that period.

Chapman was innovative, advocating the use of numbered shirts and white balls, as well as in the club’s kit for the 1933/34 season. Big changes were made. This year, white sleeves were added to the all-red shirt, and blue rings were added to the socks. Chapman’s rationale for these innovations was that he wanted to maximize player exposure, making it easier for his players to beat each other on the field.

The shirt logo has returned to Arsenal’s basic design, with a unique version to mark its 125th anniversary for the 2011/12 season. The kit was used for two seasons.