It's Arsenal against Liverpool, but not as we are used to it. When the Gunners play the Reds, there is always a kit change – just not quite like this.
Viewers of Sunday's FA Cup clash between Mikel Arteta's men and Jurgen Klopp's side at the Emirates Stadium might be confused to see the home side in white and the visitors in purple. So what's it all about?
Arsenal are wearing white, a colour usually associated with their north London rivals Tottenham, as part of a PR campaign against knife crime.
"Alongside adidas, we are proud to announce that our men’s first-team will wear the No More Red kit, drained of the club’s traditional red, for the first time in a home fixture when we face Liverpool in the FA Cup third round," the Gunners said on their website ahead of the game.
Arsenal are wearing a kit with no red for the third year in a row as part of the campaign, which has raised money for investment in safe spaces for football, as well as mentoring schemes for young people and over 9,000 hours of activities for youngsters in the community so far.
The kit was designed by Nellie-Rose, who took part in one of the 2023 No More Red Social Action Projects, and will never be put on sale.
"Community is everything and is what No More Red is all about, so it was important this was brought to life in my design," she said. "I feel proud that my creation was chosen to represent the campaign and provide the community with another way to support and feel connected to the initiative."
Freddie Hudson, Head of Arsenal in the Community, added: "No More Red provides a unique opportunity to highlight almost four decades of our local community work that has helped to keep thousands of young people safe."
In a show of solidarity in support of the initiative, Liverpool also decided against wearing their usual red kit and opted to don their third strip – which is all purple – instead.
Unfortunately, FA Cup sponsors Emirates did not seem to get the memo and obliged both teams to wear big red advertising on their sleeves.
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