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Arsenal forced to wear away strip against Basel after Champions League kit clash

Arsenal line up for their Champions League game with Basel in away colours after a kit clash
Image: Arsenal line up for their Champions League game with Basel in away colours after a kit clash

Arsenal eased to victory over Basel in the Champions League but they were in unfamiliar yellow despite being on home turf.

UEFA stipulated that the Gunners had to switch from their usual red and white because their home strip clashed with Basel's regular red, blue and black number.

The Swiss side's all-white away strip was also deemed unacceptable because of the white sleeves on Arsenal's usual attire.

Granit Xhaka's shirt hangs in the Arsenal dressing room ahead of the Champions League game with Basel
Image: Granit Xhaka's shirt hangs in the Arsenal dressing room ahead of the Champions League game with Basel

And because Basel had no third strip, it was left to Arsene Wenger's side to don what they would normally wear on the road.

Wednesday's occurrence was not the first time Arsenal have worn an away strip at home.

Theo Walcott of Arsenal scores his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League Group A match against Basel
Image: Theo Walcott of Arsenal scores his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League Group A match against Basel

In 1998/99, in accordance with UEFA policy that said any clash in first-choice kits would lead to the home team changing shirts, the Gunners wore an away strip at home to Lens, while they also obliged against Benfica in 1991.

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The strip shuffle was not to the detriment of Wenger's side; a first-half double from Theo Walcott sealed a comfortable 2-0 victory.

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