Arsenal have begun preseason donning their gold-lined new home kit – but good luck trying to buy the authentic version
(Image credit: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Arsenal are one of the most stylish teams in the league these days, with Adidas regularly selling out of Gunners kits and breaking the internet with shirt drops. But this summer, Mikel Arteta's side have begun preseason playing in a shirt that isn't actually for public consumption.
The German manufacturer delivered another popular home shirt just a few weeks ago. The kit was a hit with fans for its celebration of two decades since the Invincible side of 2003/04, lining the shirt with gold – and perhaps most stunningly, a series of Ws and Ds were woven down the trim of the authentic version to represent the 26 wins and 12 draws that Arsenal accumulated when they last won the Premier League.
Only there was a slight issue. Upon closer inspection, it was found that eight games had been missed off from this white embellishment down the side of the shirt. Had the Gunners played the season that Adidas had actually claimed, they would have finished below Chelsea. Oops.
Arsenal's new home shirt for the 2023/24 season, with Invincible-inspired embellishment down the side (Image credit: Arsenal/Adidas)
Mistakes happen. This detail was only on the authentic version of the shirt, which costs £130 – and Adidas duly withdrew the shirt from their online store, leaving just the regular version for sale, at a much fairer £80.
Yet when the Gunners lined up for their first friendly of the summer against Nurnberg in Germany, the players were all wearing authentic shirts. If you look carefully at the players, you can see that their tops still have the Ws and Ds down the side of them…
Gabriel Jesus in the now-infamous authentic Arsenal shirt (Image credit: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
The other way to tell is that Adidas authentic shirts this season all have a very distinctive pattern across the material, making the base of the top look shimmery. It's very simple to spot the difference when you look closely.
Neither Arsenal nor Adidas have not made an official announcement about the shirts and it's unclear whether anyone who purchased one will be entitled to a refund or a replacement – though given that very few of these are now in circulation, they might actually be worth a bob or two.
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Still, it's not the oddest wardrobe malfunction that we've spotted from Arsenal in the last 12 months.
In last season's opening day win against Crystal Palace, debutant and Man of the Match William Saliba wore a pink third shirt that appeared to have the pattern upside down. Just… how did that even happen!?
Spot the difference: William Saliba wears a shirt that was patterned upside down (Image credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Weirder still, Wilo had the correct top for the first half and changed to the faulty one for the second half.
Are Adidas making odd little tweaks to tops in order to create collectibles for Gooners, or something?
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
