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28th Sep 2016

Here’s why Arsenal will be wearing their away kit at home tonight

It's not the first time this has happened

Tom Victor

Arsenal have a chance to open up a gap at the top of their Champions League group with victory over Basel at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, but they won’t be wearing their famous red kit for the game.

The Gunners will wear yellow for the visit of the Swiss champions, and it’s not a matter of choice – Uefa have ordered Arsène Wenger’s team to go with their change strip because of an unlikely double colour clash.

Arsenal’s red kit clashes with Basel’s home jersey – which is red, blue and black.

Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images

Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images

But the white sleeves on the Gunners shirt also means it clashes with Basel’s reverse strip, which is all white.

As Arsenal reveal on their official club site, Basel have no third kit, so yellow it is.

It is not the first time Arsenal will have worn their away kit for a home game, with fixtures in the 1998/99 season – including the home meeting with Lens – seeing them do the same.

Marc Overmars and Yoanu LachorMark Thompson/Getty Images

Arsenal drew 1-1 with Paris Saint-Germain in their first group stage game, while Basel recorded the same scoreline at home to Ludogorets, meaning all four teams in Group A have identical records.

Wednesday’s match will represent the first ever competitive meeting between the clubs, though the Swiss side have taken on Premier League teams Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham in recent years.

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