Arsenal to play in dark red shirts

Arsenal will play in a dark red home strip next season, ditching the famous white-sleeved red shirts they have worn since 1925.

The new shirts, inspired by the first kit worn at Highbury by the club's players in 1913, will be worn at home matches for one year to mark Arsenal's last season at Highbury before they move to a new stadium at nearby Ashburton Grove.

Club researchers discovered that before 1925 the Arsenal shirts worn at Highbury were much darker than the familiar bright red shirt with white sleeves, the Arsenal's official website reported on Friday.

In fact, the shade of red was more akin to the maroon shirts currently worn by Czech side Sparta Prague, who based their kit on Arsenal's original strip.

"I think the kit is great. It's back to the roots, back to what the first kit was like," said striker Thierry Henry. "I like the fact that it's traditional and it is exactly how it was at the beginning of Highbury.

"This is the proper colour, right from the start of our time here, I'm sure people will appreciate that and will like it."

Champions Arsenal plan to move into their new 60,000-capacity stadium in north London for the start of the 2006-07 season. Highbury has a capacity of 38,500.