The Football League brought in a ‘socks clash’ rule in 1969 and it is one that the Premier League retained.
Most, if not all, leagues in the world have such a stipulation but strictness can vary and in the 1990s, Arsenal often wore navy away socks against the black of Manchester United, Southampton or Sunderland.
Though Uefa had been relatively late in regulating such instances – witness Milan v Marseille in the 1991 European Cup semi-final, for instance – they allowed less leeway. So it was that Arsenal’s trip to face Barcelona in September 1999 presented a conundrum.
The Gunners’ yellow away shirt was fine but the shorts and socks were navy and Nike had given Barça similar after taking over their kit contract from Kappa in 1998.
While it was far from a new idea for Arsenal to wear their home shorts with their change jerseys, alternative socks had not been needed before then – usually, the away socks were yellow, negating the need for a backup set.
They could have worn the default home socks but a yellow-white-red look would have been quite jarring – instead, the solution lay in using the white set that had been produced as an alternative for the home kit, though by that stage had only appeared with the one-off navy shirts used against Lens the previous year.
While Luis Enrique put Barcelona ahead in the first half, Arsenal secured a draw as Nwankwo Kanu equalised. Unfortunately for them, the return fixture at Wembley three weeks later would see the Catalan side win 4-2 and another ‘home’ defeat, to Fiorentina, saw them drop down to the Uefa Cup.
The white socks would finally see usage with the home kit later in the season, away to Bradford City and Watford. In 2000-01, a set of yellow socks became available and these were used with the away shirt and the new navy third.
As things stand, the game at Camp Nou in 1999 remains the last time that Arsenal wore yellow shirts with white shorts.
