Arsenal will make history on Sunday when they wear their No More Red kit at home for the first time.
The Gunners will wear the all-white kit, which highlights the club’s campaigning work against youth violence, when they take on Liverpool at the Emirates in the third round of the FA Cup.
It is the third consecutive season the team have worn the kit. Arsenal Women will wear the all-white kit on the pitch for the first time when they face Watford in the FA Cup fourth round at Meadow Park on January 14.
The striking kit – in contrast to the club’s traditional red colours - is not available for sale but this year Arsenal have teamed up with adidas to release a No More Red t-shirt with £30 from each sale going to charity partners including the Ben Kinsella Trust founded in memory of the Islington teenager stabbed to death in 2008.
Tweets by ArsenalAs part of the No More Red campaign and through investment from adidas, two pitches have been refurbished on Harvist and Kings Square Estates in Islington with a third being upgraded in the coming months.Kai Brennan, an Arsenal in the Community coach, said it was “an honour” to be involved in the scheme after attending training run by the club himself as a youngster.
He said: “There’s so many young people that I see and they have been in the place that I’ve been and for me to help them push towards their goals or their dream it’s a huge honour for me to do that.
“For kids when they look at the badge they think it’s Arsenal and Arsenal are one of the biggest clubs in the world but Arsenal are not just a club, they are all about the community.
“I’d say this has actually changed my life. Things like going into schools to talk to pupils, I would never have had any aspirations like that but going to these sessions helped me find a way and helped me find a purpose in life”.
The scheme also helps young people get work experience in the creative industries while No More Red shirts are given out to a handful of “community champions” every year in recognition of their work.
Jack Ironside, who works on social inclusion for the club, said No More Red let the club talk about the “serious issue” of knife violence and crime “in a positive way”.
He said: “Wearing the kit on a match day that’s a moment, it’s a moment we’re proud of and it’s a statement and puts a spotlight on the issue but then to be able to really back that up with actual weekly engagement with young people that’s making a difference, not just making a statement.
“We do feel confident we can play a positive role in young people’s journeys.
“We’re not the academy, we’re not there to scout necessarily, we’re not there to find the next Bukayo or the next Emile Smith Rowe. We are there to provide young people with opportunities off the pitch through building a connection through sport.”
