Arsenal will wear an all-white kit tonight for their third-round FA Cup clash against League One side Oxford United tonight (Monday).
The change in colour is as part of the club's continued initiative aimed at tackling knife crime and youth violence. The north London outfit have historically donned red after receiving a set of redcurrant kits as a charitable donation from Nottingham Forest shortly after they were founded as Dial Square FC in 1886 and would most likely have done so against the League One outfit as there is no obvious colour clash.
However, it has been confirmed by the club that they will now change colours for the second successive FA Cup third-round tie - having done against Forest last season- as they seek to combat the issue of knife crime with there being 11,502 knife offences recorded in London between January 2022 and November 2022, an increase compared with the corresponding period in 2021.
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All of this is part of the 'No More Red' campaign - in partnership with Adidas - which was launched in January 2022 with the intention of supporting the long-standing work being done by Arsenal in the Community to protect young people from these issues, by providing them with safe and positive spaces.
As per the club's official website, a statement reads: "adidas and Arsenal have launched the next chapter of our No More Red campaign, an initiative first launched in January 2022 to support the long-standing work being done by Arsenal in the Community to help keep young people safe from knife crime and youth violence."
The campaign has received support from many sporting influences such as Anthony Yarde, a British professional boxer and Arsenal fan, who was involved in the No More Red campaign in 2022.
"I saw a lot growing up, levels of youth violence that no child should have to see or experience. I never shy away from my childhood and where I was raised because it has a part to play in who I am today," he said.
"My mum raised me so she has had a huge influence on my life and the person I am. I was raised with love and communication, and she allowed me to make decisions for myself and gave guidance, make mistakes, learn for myself and become a man. The love between us and my siblings has a big role to play in me achieving the success I have had thus far.
"I understand that some are very good kids getting led astray, they see crime as a resolution, but need to see the bigger picture and seek opportunities. I think community is very important because people need people. When people come together in a positive way, it's powerful. It can be powerful in different ways, for businesses, families, sports and any other gathering you can think of.
"Campaigns like No More Red are so important because they shine a light on the opportunities that are actually out there. In my opinion, it shines a light on choices. There are so many people that come from the same area that I came from, and people have different outcomes for different reasons. Often those different outcomes are based on choices."
Once again, the all-white kit will not be commercially available to purchase. Instead, they will be awarded to individuals who are making a positive contribution to the community. Meanwhile, the women's team will support the initiative by wearing No More Red pre-match training kit and anthem jackets against Chelsea on Sunday, January 15.
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