Chelsea, Arsenal Highlight Recent Spate of Kit Unveilings Across Top European Leagues

English writer Samuel Johnson is quoted as saying in the 18th century, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” Well, Premier League heavyweights Chelsea FC are proving they’re not yet tired of life with their new home kits for 2025-26, which they unveiled on Friday, May 16.

Manufactured by Nike, the kits celebrate the architecture and culture of London, which the club says are “embedded into Chelsea Football Club’s DNA.” A tonal textured clash print all over the front and back of the shirt features architectural landmarks from all over the city, including Chelsea Town Hall. This print is accented with white and red trim and a “specially adapted crest, which matches the colourway and inspiration of the overall design.”

Though Chelsea had secured Dubai-based real estate developers DAMAC Properties as a front-of-shirt sponsor for the last few games of the 2024-25 season, the photos accompanying Friday’s unveiling showed no sponsor on the new kits as yet.

Along with the new kits, Chelsea introduced a new custom font for jersey names and numbers. They’ll use this font for European and domestic cup competitions, while still using the standard Premier League font for league matches.

While the Blues still have two Premier League matches and the UEFA Conference League final against Real Betis left to play this season, the new home kits are likely to make their on-pitch debut during the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States this summer.

ARSENAL FC – Home

Premier League contenders Arsenal FC get back to basics with their 2025-26 home kit, made by Adidas. The jersey features just red and white, with no accent colours, and the red body and white raglan sleeves maintain the club’s traditional home look. The front and back have a pattern of tonal repeating gothic As, which is derived from a retro crest first introduced in 1949. The Arsenal text from that crest is printed on the back collar. The Adidas shoulder stripes and trim on the sleeve cuffs are red.

🇩🇪 RB LEIPZIG – Home

German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig hope their fortunes are heading upwards in their new Puma home kit for 2025-26, which they’ll debut on Saturday, May 17, when they host VfB Stuttgart. The white shirt features grey chevrons of varying width pointing up and accented in red. “The chevrons represent momentum and determination and stand for the further successes the club hopes to achieve over the coming years,” the club says. The sleeve cuffs and the back half of the V-neck collar are also red.

🇩🇪 FC AUGSBURG – Home

Fellow German side FC Augsburg gave the power to the people to choose the design of their 2025-26 home kit, manufactured by Mizuno. The club invited fans to submit shirt designs, and they received more than 2,500 entries from 20 countries. Once those were whittled down to seven finalists, members voted for their favourite, with the winning design — featuring a green and red sash across the front of the white base, along with a red crew neck collar and sleeve cuffs — receiving 37% of the vote. The shirt also has the Swiss pine tree from the club crest embossed on the left side. Augsburg will debut the kits in their final game of the 2024-25 Bundesliga season on Saturday, May 17, against Union Berlin.

🇪🇸 ATHLETIC BILBAO – Home

Fresh off qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League for the first time in 11 years, Spanish La Liga side Athletic Bilbao look to build on tradition with their new home kit for 2025-26, made by Castore. The traditional red-and-white vertical stripes are anchored by a black polo collar and sleeve cuffs, all of which have red and white trim at the edges. The back of the shirt has a solid red panel for names and numbers. On the back collar, the ikkuriña flag representing the Basque Country appears inside an Eguzkilore, or silver thistle flower. “According to Basque mythology, the Eguzkilore protects homes from evil spirits and, as it is capable of surviving in harsh climates, it also represents the identity, strength and resilience of the Basque people,” the club says. It’s also a nod to the tradition of visiting teams placing flowers at a statue of club legend Pichichi at the Estadio de San Mamés when they make first official visit to play Bilbao.

🇳🇱 AFC AJAX – Home

Tradition meets modernity in the 2025-26 home kits for 36-time Dutch Eredivisie champions AFC Ajax. The club’s usual broad red stripe down the middle of their home shirt is accented by a tonal halftone pattern of crosses lifted from the coat of arms of their home city, Amsterdam, as it celebrates its 750th anniversary this year. The anniversary is also commemorated with a banner on the back collar. This is the first kit to feature the returning classic Ajax crest, which the club announced in November 2024 would come back due to popular demand.

🇳🇱 PSV EINDHOVEN – Away

Dutch side PSV Eindhoven could win silverware straight away in their new away kits for 2025-26, as they’re set to debut them on Sunday, May 17, against Sparta Rotterdam in a match that could decide this season’s Eredivisie title (they sit one point ahead of AFC Ajax heading into the final match of the 2024-25 season). The new kit is navy blue with a red-and-white checkerboard pattern on the side panels as “a tribute to our roots and to the loyal supporters from all corners of Brabant,” the club’s home province which features the same pattern in its flag.