Wise Words for You

The   Arsenal kit   is simple enough. A bright red torso with white sleeves, usually. It’s a classy look, and it took over 50 years to build. The red wasn’t even the Gunners’ idea.  We are jersey-obsessed here at White Wolf Inspirations and Wise Words for You (partly because I’m an Arsenal supporter), so we can’t help but dig into the stories behind the kits we love. Let’s dive deep into the history trenches to reveal Arsenal’s shirt history, as well as take a peek at some of their most memorable kits, both home and away from seasons long past.  Local munitions workers in London circa 1886 founded Dial Square F.C., the earliest known rendition of Arsenal Football Club. And they needed players. So, they recruited a few lads who were off playing for Nottingham Forest and convinced them to make the bold jump to a new side. They would change Arsenal’s history forever.  Why? Because they brought their Forest kits with them, and they were red.  But they weren’t ...

The origins of Arsenal's kit tell a great and unusual story. Arsenal were originally formed as Dial Square FC in 1886 by workers at the Woolwich armaments factory in South London. The name was changed to the more imposing It has been widely reported that the club were given a set of Garibaldi Red shirts by Nottingham Forest but research by Mark Andrews and Andy Kelly has cast doubt on this. One of Arsenal's founders was Fred Beardsley, a native of Nottingham who was, according to his obituary had the idea of adopting Forest's colours. As an amateur, Beardsley continued to turn out for Forest in cup games and this may have given rise to the apocryphal story. In an interview published in 1938, Beardsley described the team's first strip as "red shirts, white three-quarter master pants, black stockings and caps." He also mentioned that Forest donated Arsenal's first football. Having turned professional in 1891, the club found themselves ostracis...