The reason why Liverpool will play in the red kit as visitors at the Emirates Stadium

Liverpool will be bringing its purple change strip as planned for the meeting with Arsenal at the Emirates this weekend. But the host will not be adorned in its usual red and white colors. For the third year running, Arsenal will be playing a fixture in a special all-white strip. Traditionally taboo due to the rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur, the club makes an exception for its 'No More Red' campaign, designed to draw awareness to the knife crime and youth violence epidemic in London.

Unlike in previous years, the white kit will be worn at the Emirates this season, marking a historic first. For Liverpool, there would clearly no longer be a clash of colors, but it will also be leaving its red shirts behind. Arsenal in the Community head Freddie Hudson hailed the campaign as a chance to showcase the work the club has done in the local area.

“No More Red provides a unique opportunity to highlight almost four decades of our local community work that has helped to keep thousands of young people safe," he told Arsenal's official website. The campaign, launched in partnership with kit supplier Adidas, was first introduced in January 2022. The strip's debut came at this same stage of the FA Cup, with Mikel Arteta's side exiting the competition after a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Played at the City Ground, the host wore its usual red kit on that occasion. There was a winning outing for the kit last season, again in the FA Cup third round. Arsenal put three past Oxford United playing in its standard yellow home jersey.

They stay alive

The kit might not be the only unfamiliar thing about the Arsenal side. Unlike Liverpool, there is no midweek Carabao Cup tie to cause a selection headache, but Arteta could still choose to rest Bukayo Saka and other key names. Both the Spaniard and Jürgen Klopp are also grappling with various injury issues. Liverpool has Arsenal and Fulham inside four days before an 11-day break before Bournemouth.