Arsenal.com have released official images of the 2012/13 Arsenal home kit, which has now been made available for pre-order. The kit will be officially unveiled on June 7th (whatever that means).

The kit is the same as seen in leaked photos all the way back in February, and I don’t like it now any more than I did three months ago. I just don’t understand what the Nike designers were thinking. Red and white is simple but effective; why the need for the horrible navy stripe on the arms??

The other noticeable difference is that we return to the regular badge after this season’s special logo for the Arsenal’s 125th anniversary.

According to Arsenal.com, the blue stripe is inspired by the socks worn in the 1930s when Arsenal were playing under Herbert Chapman. Chapman apparently designed the socks with the intention of maximising player visibility, thinking that the players would find it easier to spot each other on the pitch. The question I have is why the stripe has now migrated to the shirt? I didn’t realise that the players were finding it so hard to see each other. Then again, that might go some way to explaining some of the dodgy passing we have seen in recent weeks.

Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below. I would be interested to find out what other Arsenal fans think of the shirt. Maybe not all fans dislike it as much as I do.

To see more of the official photos of the kit click here.