Football Shirts : Kit Vault, Arsenal

Arsenal 1983-86 Away Shirt - Kit Vault

Editor — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:22:00 GMT

SoccerBible opens our Kit Vault to a time when hair was big and football shorts were short! Conjuring up memories of being a young football fan, and re-living some of the players who used to play the game, is this 1983-86 Arsenal Away shirt....(read more)

Arsenal 1978-81 Home Shirt - Kit Vault

Soccer_Boots — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:01:00 GMT

Here at SoccerBible, we've opened our Kit Vault doors once more to bring you a true icon of the football shirt world! Worn by Arsenal FC between 1978-81, the long-sleeve red & white classic is widely regarded by Arsenal fans as the best looking Arsenal shirt ever made. Beauty in simplicity has rarely applied more to a football shirt!

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There's nothing like an old-school football shirt to bring back memories of footballs staggeringly different past! This Arsenal shirt was worn during the blood and thunder of 70s/80s football where players didn't give a second thought about the colour of their boots!

The Arsenal No.11 was made famous by Graham Rix who was part of the famous 1979 FA Cup winning Arsenal side. Rix, who went on to make 464 appearances for Arsenal, played along side club legends such as Liam Brady, Pat Rice and Alan Sunderland who beat Manchester United 3-2 in the memorable '79 FA Cup Final. This was the clubs only success during this period.

The 1978-79 season was Arsenal's first in partnership with Umbro. For the first time, the Umbro logo appeared on the right side of the shirt. Umbro went on to be the kit manufacturer for the London club until 1986, eventually making way for adidas and Nike in 1994.

The 78-81 Arsenal home jersey was the last Arsenal shirt to be worn without a sponsor. In 1981, 'JVC' became the club's first shirt sponsor, eventually being replace by 'Dreamcast' in 2000.

With a simple design, the 78-81 home shirt stayed true to the Arsenal tradition. The stitched AFC letters alongside the famous Arsenal cannonball added a unique subtle touch to a great looking shirt. The club initials were the only change made to the white cannon since its introduction in 1967. The badge became known as the A-F-C 'cannonballs'.

Arsenal shirts have generally followed a simple and clean design, keeping to the iconic red and white colour combination of their home shirts. This Arsenal home shirt typifies the classic comfortable feel of 70s football shirts!

The traditional importance of this particular Arsenal shirt is evident in Arsenals current home strip today. The London club have played their 2010-11 season in a shirt that is a direct throwback to this original design of the 70s and 80s. For Arsenal fans, a simple red shirt with all white sleeves and red sleeve cuffs is the ultimate classic!

Stay tuned to the SoccerBible as we reveal even more retro soccer shirts from the Kit Vault, showcasing the best retro amd classic kits and bringing them back to life!

Arsenal Away Shirt 1995/96 - Kit Vault

Soccer_Boots — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 10:46:00 GMT

Its the third edition of our SoccerBible Kit Vault and the first of the new year! This time on show we've got our hands on the 1995-96 Arsenal away shirt. A team rich in history and tradition, Arsenal are one of the true greats of English football...

There are some football shirts that divide football fans and cause a little bit of controversy amongst the club faithful. This away Arsenal kit from the 1995-96 Premier League season is certainly one of them. Fans associated the clubs sponsor JVC, with the idea of the shirt looking like a badly tuned television! Even so, the kit became a cult classic for some Arsenal fans and embedded itself into Arsenal history.

The unconventional design that featured lightning bolts on one half of the shirt took inspiration from Arsenal's previous 94/95 away shirt which first introduced the lightning bolt theme. The lightning bolts couldn't have come from any era other than the 90s.

Arsenal's away shirts have had a strong tradition of being yellow. Nike decided to ignore fans desires of a yellow shirt to follow the 94/95 blue kit with the release of this follow up which didn't feature many design changes from the previous year. The same two light and dark colours of blue were used along with the lightning bolts that still baffled some Arsenal supporters.

This Arsenal kit was significant in marking the arrival of Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp to the club from Inter Milan. Bergkamp was signed by Arsenal boss Bruce Rioch in June 1995 for £7.5m and was one of the first world-class foreign players to join an English club since the lifting of the Heysel ban in 1990.

Bergkamp played in an Arsenal side that featured club legends such as Ian Wright, Patrick Viera, Thierry Henry and Tony Adams who all played an integral part in Arsenal's three Premier League titles. Bergkamp went on to become an Arsenal legend and was a major contributor to the club's return to success after periods of mediocrity in the mid 1990s. In 2008, Bergkamp was named the 2nd greatest player in the Gunner's history just behind his former strike partner Thierry Henry.

The 95/96 season saw Arsenal finish in 5th place in the FA Premiership with 63 points, 19 points behind the season champions Manchester United. It was the final season before Arsene Wenger was handed the managerial job at the club after his 18-moth stint with the Japanese J. League team Nagoya Grampus Eight. Since then, Wenger has transformed the clubs style of play and philosophy and has now entered his 15th year as Arsenal manager.

Stay tuned to the SoccerBible as we reveal even more retro soccer shirts from the Kit Vault, showcasing the best retro amd classic kits and bringing them back to life!