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Chris Wright, Toe Poke writer
Arsenal have celebrated the African heritage of many of the club’s fans in London and beyond with their away kit for the 2024-25 season.
The jersey was designed in collaboration with Labrum London, an apparel brand with a focus on British African culture, and takes plenty of its design cues from the continent that produced former Gunners stars such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Nwankwo Kanu and Kolo Touré.
Kanu even makes an appearance in the launch video, which also features current players Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber and Leah Williamson.
The shirt has a plain black base but it is livened up by a generous application of vibrant details. There are the contrasting red-and-green logos and decoration on the shoulders and collar, while an eye-catching white zig-zag graphic runs down the arms and flanks of the torso and continues onto the shorts.
Within that hand-drawn pattern are specks of black which, according to manufacturer Adidas, represent cowrie shells. These were once widely used as a form of currency in Asia and on the Eastern coast of Africa, with the use of the highly decorative shell from a type of sea snail dating as far back the ancient Egyptians.
Red and green is also a colour pairing that can be widely found in traditional pan-African art and decoration, and along with black form the tricolour found on the Pan-African flag — a banner which has been used to represent the African diaspora since the 1920s.
Arsenal and Labrum have also collaborated on an accompanying range of apparel which comprises two jackets, a sweater, t-shirt and track pants.
The brightly coloured T-shirt, in particular, is a real dazzler. Expect to see it worn by plenty of fans in the stands of the Emirates next season as Mikel Arteta’s men’s side aim to reel in Manchester City in a Premier League title race at the third time of asking.
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