If your favourite football team in London is the Arsenal (obviously) and you are a fan of the patterned fabric synonymous with the Piccadilly line (yeah, you know the one), then we’ve got just the news for you.
North London’s finest have teamed up with TfL, as well as their usual sponsors Adidas, to create a pre-match kit inspired by the tube line, in a first-of-a-kind collaboration. And the results are pretty stunning.
As you can see above, the posing models of (from left) Emile Smith Rowe, Mana Iwabuchi and Thomas Partey are rocking the “moquette” pattern in style at Arsenal station. Fans can choose from five different items in the collaboration, and even get their hands on a bespoke limited edition Arsenal x TfL Oyster cards to flash on the daily commute.
After being released online today (January 20), fans will delight in seeing their beloved Gunners debut the pre-match kit in the warmup for tonight’s clash against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final. I don’t know about you, but if ever there was a good omen to make to the Wembley final, this surely must be it.
Say hello to the new @arsenal and @adidasfootball collection in collaboration with TfL! ⚽️ 🚇
Celebrating the iconic connection between Arsenal and the London Underground, the only Underground station named after a football club. Available now.https://t.co/EiPLlnVFkL pic.twitter.com/75wcR1pLB2
— TfL (@TfL) January 20, 2022
Given Arsenal and the London Underground go way back, the collaboration is a match made in football heaven. Arsenal are the only London club to have station named after them, switching from the original Gillespie Road.
Reuben Dangoor, artist and Arsenal fan (and creator of the limited Oyster Card), said: “Arsenal is the only football club to have a tube stop named after it. Originally known as Gillespie Road, it was renamed in 1932, as the stop ran close to the former ground; Highbury. The Finsbury Park stop is also the most frequently used by match day fans travelling to The Emirates Stadium.
“To celebrate this link, I wanted to depict the old and new stations – from 1932 to 2022 and I’m hoping fans really like the product range and the Oyster card I’ve created.”
And when it comes to kit collaborations, this certainly isn’t Arsenal’s first rodeo. Earlier this month, the club launched their “No More Red” campaign – subverting their classic kit colour into a limited edition all-white offering – to support long-standing work in the community to address some of the root causes of knife crime and youth violence in London. The voices behind the campaign included none other than Idris Elba and Ian Wright.
Catch Arsenal in their Piccadilly line kit tonight pre-match at the Emirates Stadium as they take on Liverpool for a place in the Carabao Cup Final. You can order from the collaboration range at Arsenal Direct or Adidas.