Arsenal will almost certainly be playing Champions League football in 2023/24.
The Gunners have been absent from Europe’s top-tier competition since 2016/17, when they were thrashed 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich in the Round of 16.
It would take the collapse of all collapses for Arsenal to fail in their long quest to return to the big time.
Prior to Saturday’s match against Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium, Mikel Arteta’s side sit 22 points clear of fifth-placed Newcastle United.
They’re not going to blow it, are they? Arsenal are far more likely to pip Manchester City to the title than miss out on Champions League football, something we didn’t think we’d be writing before a ball was kicked this season.
But it seems Adidas are not taking the Gunners’ impending return to elite-level European football very seriously.
The manufacturer have churned out some amazing kits in recent times, however, their design for Arsenal’s away number in 2023/24 is absolutely horrendous.
On Friday, the first images of the kit were leaked on social media and at first, many must have thought it was an early April Fools’ joke.
Take a look for yourself…
Images: Arsenal’s 2023/24 away kit ‘leaked’
Wow. Well, at least Arsenal stand a chance of blinding their opposition into submission while on their 2023/24 Champions League travels.
The ever-reliable Footy Headlines have commented on the leaked kit, writing: “The design of the Arsenal away kit for the 2023/24 season, combining a fluo-green-yellow base colour with black/bright blue for logos & applications, completed with black shorts & fluo-yellow socks, set for release around July 2023.”
Adidas, don’t expect them to fly off the shelves in July!
Here’s how some fans on Twitter have reacted to the leaks…
Fan reaction
Have Arsenal ever won the Champions League?
Despite being regulars in the competition under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal have never lifted the coveted Big Ears trophy.
The closest they came to doing so was in 2006, when they tasted final defeat in agonising fashion.
Sol Campbell’s header looked as it was going to seal a famous Parisian victory for 10-man Arsenal, only for Barcelona to complete a late comeback.
Goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti, as well as a game-changing cameo from Henrik Larsson, secured a 2-1 victory for the Blaugrana.
Can Arteta go one better than Wenger on the European stage? Right now, anything looks possible for the north London outfit.
