North London is...White? Arsenal's Bizarre Ruling Ahead of Upcoming North London Derby vs Tottenham Hotspur

Seems like North London has been deemed white, or rather too white in the case of the PGMOL and Premier League as Arsenal will have to wear their away kit against north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday due to their red-and-white home kit featuring too much white, clashing with the colours of Spurs.

Both sides traditionally wear their home kits when they play each other, with British media reporting that Arsenal last wore their away kits in the fixture 38 years ago.

“Both teams will be wearing their away strips in the fixtures this campaign, after (referees’ body) PGMOL and Premier League ruled that our 2024-25 home kit features too much white, thus clashing with Tottenham’s traditional colours,” Arsenal said on Tuesday.

“As a result, for the first time in recent NLD history, we’ll be wearing our changed colours, with our black adidas away kit being donned at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where we’ll aim to clinch a third-straight victory at the venue.”

This comes across as insult to injury for a hobbled Arsenal, who have been plagued by the injury big lately, losing out on major players such as new signee Mikel Merino, Declan Rice and now captain Martin Odegaard himself ahead of a stretch of stringent fixtures for the Gunners.

Mikel Artetas men have been dealt a fresh double blow ahead of the trip to their rivals after Martin Odegaard suffered a sprained ankle while on Norway duty against Austria – with the playmaker now expected to miss their next game against Tottenham on September 15 – while Declan Rice is also set to be absent.

Odegaard and Rice will be crucial misses for the team in midfield as they bid to maintain their early push for the title and they could be joined by new signing Ricardo Calafiori after the Italian went off with a bizarre injury during Italy’s win against France in the Nations League – having been clattered by a falling Ousmane Dembele.

The list does not stop there as the likes of defender Jurrien Timber and striker Gabriel Jesus both face potential injuries after being hobbled in their previous clashes respectively.

(with agency inputs)