Arsenal 2025/26 home kit leaked as fans offer mixed reaction to ‘clean’ new shirt

Kit leak season is well underway, and the latest new jersey to allegedly be spotted in the wild before its official unveiling is Arsenal’s home shirt for the 2025/26 season – but will Adidas’ latest offering cheer fans up after their title challenge tailed away over the past few months?

Footy Headlines claim to have acquired photos of the shirt that Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and their comrades will wear at the Emirates next season, and it’s a classic design with few bells or whistles – which has led to a decidedly mixed first reaction from fans on social media.

Is the leaked Arsenal home kit ‘clean’ or ‘underwhelming’

Assuming the leak is legitimate, Adidas are going with one of their most straightforward designs yet for the Gunners, with their trademark stripes down the sleeve the only divergence from the classic template of red breast and white sleeves.

There’s no gold or blue trim this time, and the only real detailing comes in the form of a thin red band around the sleeves and Arsenal’s ‘gothic’ capital A, which forms a subtle pattern across the chest.

The full crest is back, too, with the shield badge now returning in place of the simple cannon that adorned Arsenal’s kits this year. We don’t yet have any images of the sides, unfortunately, but the back is a simple block red with only the club’s name in the same gothic lettering near the nape of the neck to vary the pattern.

Fans of simple, minimalist designs seem to love it, but those who prefer a little more innovation are clearly less keen. The initial reaction from online Arsenal fan groups has varied from “clean and simple” and “a return to form” down to the less complimentary verdict that it’s “underwhelming” or “like the sample kits you’d get on FIFA.”

A clean look as Arsenal get ready for summer transfer market

Arsenal will certainly get a clean, fresh look for their new signings this summer, and while the odds of Alexander Isak sporting the new top seem to be getting thinner by the day, we can expect the Gunners to come out firing when the summer transfer window opens.

Nico Williams, Viktor Gyökeres and Martín Zubimendi are among the big name (and big money) players linked with a move to North London, but whoever signs the club will hope to have a squad with added strength and depth and which is ready to challenge for a first title in over two decades.

Whether you think the Gunners will look sharper or simply blander in their new attire, it will matter rather more than they stay a little sharper on the pitch. Fitness issues have dogged Mikel Arteta’s squad all season, but they have also lacked a cutting edge that runaway leaders Liverpool have had in abundance.

With Liverpool likely rebuilding this summer, Manchester City still struggling, Chelsea slowly coming back into their own, ambitious clubs like Newcastle United and Aston Villa snapping at the leaders’ heels and – who knows – maybe even a second act for Nottingham Forest, next season’s title race could be wide open, and Arsenal can’t afford to head into another season with enough high-class players in enough positions.

As for whether those sparkly new signings will look any better as they strut their stuff at the Emirates, however… that’s clearly a matter of opinion.