Many Sky Sports viewers expressed their frustration with the kit ‘clash’ during Arsenal’s trip to West Ham on Sunday. The Gunners donned their third strip for their visit to the London Stadium, knowing that three points are crucial to their Premier League title charge.
But many felt that the kit was far too similar to West Ham’s, highlighting how Arsenal‘s shorts and socks were a similar colour to West Ham’s iconic claret strip. They took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to vent their frustrations only seconds after the match kicked off.
@AFCBani led complaints, writing: “This kit clash is tough on my eyes, why didn’t we just wear blue?”
While @ArsenalN7 said: “Kit clash. Awful on the eyes. Why didn’t we use the other kit?”
@Thornickl echoed their sentiments, posting: ” Is there really any need for West Ham and Arsenal to be wearing the same kit?”
Similarly, @_RL_1892 complained: ” Horrible viewing for the eyes these kits, why can’t Arsenal just be normal and go back to a yellow away kit.”
Hoards of fans continued to make similar statements, with @brewtalb writing: “Who’s idea was it to put us in the third kit that clashed with West Ham’s instead of the blue away kit.”
As @ZACWILSON_ said: “Why would Arsenal not wear their blue away kit on a day like this? West Ham & Arsenal wearing same colours, just alternate tops and bottoms.”
Arsenal’s traditional home red kit would have been deemed too similar to West Ham’s, though they do have a blue away kit that could have been brought out instead.
There will be a noticeable change next season in terms of the league leaders’ appearance, as their Visit Rwanda sleeve sponsorship will no longer appear on the kit, as the commercial agreement is set to expire this summer.
They had maintained a business partnership since 2018, thought to be worth in excess of £10million annually, but it was mutually decided that this would be the last year of their collaboration.
Arsenal chief executive Richard Garlick said in November: “Our first-ever sleeve partnership with Visit Rwanda has been a significant journey. Over many years, we’ve worked together to raise global awareness of Rwanda’s tourism and conservation efforts and built many new connections with our supporters across Africa.
“The commitment and support of Visit Rwanda throughout our partnership has played an important role in driving forward our ambitions – helping us invest in our long-term vision to win major trophies, in a financially sustainable way. We thank the Rwanda Development Board for their partnership and what we’ve delivered together.”