Two Arsenal away shirts in a row have dropped the official club crest in favour of just the cannon image that makes up a part of it. Could the cannon become a permanent fixture of their away kits from now on?
The History of the Arsenal Cannon
The cannon’s association with Arsenal stems from their origins as Woolwich Arsenal and the strong military influence felt in the borough at the time. Their first ever crest in 1905 was very similar to the Coat of Arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich and featured three cannons viewed from above.
Arsenal's first solitary cannon crests from the 1920s and their successors from 1949 onwards
By the 1921/22 season, the solitary west-facing cannon had become the new crest. Three versions of the cannon crest (including a short-lived east-facing one) were used up until 1949 when the first VCC 'Victoria Concordia Crescit' crest was introduced. Its colouring was updated a couple of times before the current crest replaced it in 2002.
The crests actually worn on Arsenal's shirts
Although these were official club crests, they differed from the ones worn on the club’s shirts. Pre-1967, Arsenal wore a few variations of a shield shape with AFC lettering (one also containing the cannon), before the lone cannon took its place, despite not having been the official crest since 1949.
Arsenal wore it on their jerseys for many seasons afterwards and it was only in the early 90s when they actually began using the club crest on their shirts. This transition meant the cannon last graced an Arsenal kit in the 90/91 season, appearing on their yellow and navy away shirt.
It didn’t appear again until Adidas revived it this season and used it on the yellow and navy away kit, just like its last outing. Nike and Puma never once released a shirt bearing the cannon in the entirety of their respective tenures as the club’s technical sponsor, despite it being hugely popular with fans, as was seen when the current away kit was released.
Leaked images of Arsenal’s 22/23 away kit show that the cannon takes the place of the official crest once again, while the home and third kits have the usual badge. This could well prove to be a trend that Adidas will continue into the future. It is relatively common for football teams to release away or third shirts with an alternate or historical crest, as we have seen from Atalanta, Atlético Madrid, Inter, Liverpool and a host of other clubs in the past.
One for the Future?
Continuing with the cannon as an away shirt staple could be a smart move from Arsenal and Adidas for several reasons. It is a historical symbol of the club, it is loved by the supporters, it makes the shirts more appealing to older fans and it also gives them something of a “collector’s edition” feel.
Perhaps most importantly of all, the cannon is a minimalistic reinterpretation of the current crest. In this business age of football, brand image and identity is arguably more important to the club board than their results and performances on the pitch. We see clubs release redesigned badges almost on a weekly basis, with the common theme being simplification, even over-simplification in many cases.
Arsenal 22-23 Home, Away & Third Kits Leaked
Arsenal and the cannon would be an exception to this. It is a core symbol of the club, it dates back to their beginnings and if anything, it represents the club better than the modernised badge they adopted back in 2002.
Neither Adidas nor Arsenal have made any announcements regarding a permanent reintroduction of the cannon for the away kits, but it is possible that we are seeing a pattern emerging here. Now all they have to do is turn it around so it's pointing westwards, then everyone will be happy.
Would you like to see the cannon used more regularly on Arsenal’s kits? Let us know in the comments.