Why EPL & PGMOL asked Arsenal to do what they’ve not done in 38 years against Spurs on Sunday | OneFootball

Arsenal have announced that the PGMOL and Premier League have ruled that their 2024-25 home kit features too much white and clashes with Tottenham Hotspur’s traditional colours.

As a result, the Gunners will wear their black away kit for Sunday’s North London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It will be the first time since the 1985-86 season that Arsenal have worn their away kit in a north London derby, according to the Arsenal Shirt Collection group.

The Gunners discussed the option of wearing red shorts and socks on their home colours for the game, but it was rejected.

Tottenham will also wear their away colours when they visit Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal in January.

The Gunners were made aware before the start of 2024-25 that this season’s home kit could be deemed to feature too much white for their game against Spurs, but as the norm is, they had settled on designs for new kits and ordered them with Adidas months in advance of the new campaign.

Arsenal have already worn their black away strip this term when they faced Aston Villa at Villa Park in their second Premier League game of the season, securing a 2-0 victory in it.

They will fancy their chances of leaving Tottenham with all three points having won each of their last two games at the ground of their bitter rivals.

Arsenal won 3-2 on their last visit back in April and they also emerged 2-0 winners against them in January 2023.

Spurs last won against the Gunners in May 2022 and could find it difficult to do so on Sunday with the trio of Dominic Solanke, Richarlison and Micky van de Ven all likely to miss the game due to injuries.

Arsenal also have issues of their own, with captain Martin Odegaard expected to miss the trip after twisting his ankle on Monday, while both Declan Rice (suspension) and Mikel Merino (injury) are unavailable for selection, with Riccardo Calafiori also a huge doubt.