Arsenal kit launch: What does it say about Alexis Sanchez?
Chilean superstar models the new Gunners strip, but his number appears to have gone to Danny Welbeck
Arsenal have released their new kit for next season, but fans and commentators appeared more interested in the oddities of the launch rather than the tops themselves.
First of all, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, the club's two biggest stars, were chosen to model the new uniforms - although they're both tipped to leave the Emirates this summer.
"The pair's presence in the promotional material for the new kit will give Arsenal fans renewed hope that they will both extend their contracts with the club," says the Daily Telegraph.
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However, the paper also notes that when fans were given the chance to pre-order shirts, Sanchez's number seven was listed as belonging to Danny Welbeck.
Olivier Giroud and Hector Bellerin, another two players presumed to be heading for the exit, also featured in the photoshoot, which was made to look as though it had been filmed in a suburban house.
In addition, club legends Robert Pires and Martin Keown took part in an event at King's Cross which the club described as an "activation", where fans could look at the strip and have their picture taken alongside the FA Cup.
Then there was the matter of the "bizarre" press release that accompanied the kits, which "included a strange poem cum mission statement with some baffling lines and an odd stress on the definitive article", according to the Daily Mail.
Apparently designed to accentuate the fact the club is known as "the" Arsenal, it featured a series of statements such as: "We are THE ones riding our motorbikes with Petr Cech's helmet."
However, the London Evening Standard reports there was also praise for the kit itself. "The shirt has gone down well with fans on Twitter, with Puma getting praise for a smart collar and curved chest panel," it says.
"The German sports company have also ditched the darker red stripe that ran down the centre of last season's home shirt, and moved away from the black collar and sleeve piping seen on the old kit."
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