A long-standing streak in the north London derby is set to end after the Premier League determined which kit Arsenal will wear against Tottenham on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta‘s side will make the short trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they look to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
But they will have to do it wearing their away strip after the PGMOL and Premier League determined Arsenal‘s home shirt clashes with Tottenham’s.
The ruling claims Arsenal’s home kit features too much white, which the Premier League felt would prove troublesome given it is Tottenham’s traditional colour.
Arsenal even floated the option of wearing red shorts and socks to avoid the clash, but their request was rejected.
Instead, the Gunners will don their black away strip.
Remarkably, it will be the first time either side has had to wear their away kit since Arsenal’s 5-2 victory over Tottenham in November 2012 at the Emirates Stadium.
For Arsenal, it will also mark the first time in recent history they’ve worn a change strip in a north London derby.
Tottenham will also wear their away kit for the return fixture at the Emirates in January.
Arsenal have already worn their away strip once this season and will hope it inspires a similar result against their bitter rivals.
Arteta’s side travelled to Aston Villa, who play in claret and blue, and picked up a valuable 2-0 win with goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey.
However, replicating the feat against Tottenham will be an almighty task given their absences for the clash.
Star midfielder Declan Rice misses the derby with suspension after he picked up two yellow cards against Brighton, while skipper Martin Odegaard had to be helped off the field with an ankle injury in Norway’s Nations League clash against Austria on Monday.
Riccardo Calafiori is another who could be sidelined after he left Italy’s camp due to a freak injury sustained in the 3-1 win over France.
The derby also comes far too soon for fellow summer recruit Mikel Merino as he suffered a fractured shoulder in a collision with Gabriel during training and faces several weeks on the sideline.
However, deadline day signing Raheem Sterling is in line to make his Arsenal debut.
