Tottenham Hotspur will be donning their away kit for Wednesday night’s clash against Arsenal due to a colour conflict with Mikel Arteta’s squad.
This decision follows a similar ruling earlier this season when Arsenal had to sport their away colours during the reverse fixture. The Premier League and referee governing body PGMOL have stated that the Gunners’ home kit has too much white on the back, causing a clash with Spurs’ traditional home hues. This is the first time in recent years that either team has had to switch colours for the North London derby.
In September, Arsenal commented: “The PGMOL and Premier League ruled that our 2024/25 home kit features too much white, thus clashing with Tottenham’s traditional colours, even with the option of red shorts and socks for us, which was also discussed.”
Both teams are heading into tonight’s derby grappling with injury issues, with Spurs missing their first-choice centre-backs and goalkeeper, while Arsenal are without three forwards. Ange Postecoglou’s side have only managed one win from their last 31 away league matches at Arsenal, and the ex-Celtic boss acknowledges the “understands the ramifications” of a result against their rivals.
However, he isn’t giving any weight to the notion that, following losses to Newcastle and Manchester United in cup games last week, Spurs could quickly turn the Emirates crowd against their own team. The Aussie warned: “If we go into the game thinking maybe they’re not at it, you fall into a trap of not preparing in the right way. Their form up until the last couple of games has been pretty compelling.”
Spurs’ Richarlison is set to take a spot on the bench after his recovery from a hamstring injury, but manager Postecoglou is cautious about overworking the Brazilian due to fears of a setback. “He’s been harassing me for 10 days to play,” said the Spurs boss. “He looks ready to go.”
Arsenal are facing challenges with Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri sidelined, while Gabriel Jesus is out for the season following a cruciate ligament rupture sustained in the match against Manchester United. Arteta commented: “Obviously we are losing two very creative, very important, very unpredictable players for us, so that has an impact on the team. That’s for sure.”