Arsenal have unveiled the kit they will wear against Manchester City on the Premier League’s return, with tributes to the National Health Service and the Black Lives Matter movement set to feature prominently.
Mikel Arteta’s side take on the soon-to-be dethroned Premier League champions at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, which comes as the second match back since the return of football in the UK. The action kicks off with Aston Villa vs Sheffield United from 6pm, before Arteta faces his former head coach Pep Guardiola in their first clash since leaving City to take up the head coach vacancy at Arsenal.
The return of Premier League football kicks off 92 games in little more than five weeks, with the top flight trying to squeeze in the nine rounds that remain in the 2019/20 season following the coronavirus crisis.
The Premier League has contributed enormously towards fighting coronavirus, be it the donations from players towards the NHS or the availability of stadiums and hotels to help efforts to combat the virus, with the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham coming to the aid of NHS workers as well as Wembley Stadium.
The battle against Covid-19 has not been the only factor affecting sport in recent weeks, with support for the Black Lives Matter movement being shown by every club in the top flight.
The killing of George Floyd in the United States has caused a number of sports in Britain, including the Premier League, to assess how it actively fights racism, with a number of players deciding they needed to speak out about racial inequality within the sport.
Players including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson and Kevin De Bruyne featured in an anti-racism video that was put together and released by Raheem Sterling, with the Manchester City forward also appearing on BBC Newsnight to discuss racial inequality in the UK and within football.
As a result, clubs have been granted permission to carry their own tributes to both matters when the season resumes, with both of Wednesday’s matches as well as all weekend games selected to show solidarity with the NHS and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Arsenal were one of the first to release their kit, with the club’s dark blue alternative kit featuring the NHS blue heart between the Adidas and Arsenal club crests, and the Black Lives Matter slogan on the right sleeve.
Players will also sport ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the back of their shirts instead of their names, with the Premier League also confirming this week that players will ot face any action if they reveal messages of support or protest against racial inequality.
