THE VITALS:

Team: Arsenal

Brand: Nike

Era: 2012-13 (Used for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 Premier League seasons’ and for the 2014 FA Cup Final)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

The material, the Nike swoosh and club crest stand in fine order. Had the Fly Emirates sponsorship not worn down, this shirt would easily be classified as being excellent in condition!

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Large

Pit to Pit Measurement: 21.5 inches

Shirt Length: 29.5 inches 

Made using Nike’s ‘Dri-Fit’ mould which they introduced in 2012; this shirt provides excellent dimensions for a size large fitting football shirt.

DESCRIPTION:

In what was the final Arsenal home shirt made by Nike, the home shirt used between 2012-14; this shirt can almost be considered a .5 upgrade on the home shirt used in the 2010-11 season. After the centenary home shirt which was used in 2011-12; it is no surprise that this shirt follows more in the footsteps of the 2010-11 shirt than its immediate predecessor. Much like the 2010-11 home shirt, the same red body was used, the key difference was the addition of navy applications after the former was strictly red and white. A thinner, round navy collar was used while the base of short sleeve used red, white and navy bands (the long sleeve edition continued the white sleeve after the navy band). This shirt would also hold the historic footnote of being one of the last ever high-profile club home shirt to be used over a two season span, and was of course the shirt worn as ‘The Gunners’ ended their 9 year trophy drought as they brought home their record 12^th FA Cup title following the dramatic 3-2 victory over Hull City on May 17th 2014!

THE SEASON:

Although would seal another top 4 finish at the end of 2011-12, it wasn’t enough to keep Robin Van Persie at the club as the 2011-12 Premier League top goal-scorer became the club’s latest high-profile exit when he joined Manchester United on the eve of their August 17^th Premier League curtain raiser against Sunderland. Ahead of his departure, the club had already secured the high-profile signings of: Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla.

The 2012-13 season could best be described as yet another season of transition for Arsenal, there was however, many positive things to build on ahead of the new season as from December 8^th 2012 until the end of the season; the team would win 16 games out of 23 in the league; once again pipping Tottenham Hotspur to a 4^th place finish!

On the cup front, Arsenal disappointed in both domestic competitions, while their European frontier ended in the Last 16 when they were narrowly beaten on away goals by eventual champions – Bayern Munich.

The summer of 2013 was dominated by a protracted transfer saga, following their pursuit of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez. While their now infamous £40,000,000.01 bid was rejected and Suarez stayed put, the club would eventually see their transfer record broken as Mesut Ozil arrived from Real Madrid for £42.5 million on Transfer Deadline Day!

Although Arsenal would be stunned by Aston Villa in their opening clash of the season; Arsene Wenger’s side would resume their fine 2013 form as they reeled off 13 wins from their next 18 and would close the year in 1^st place! It looked as if their fine form would continue into 2014; topping the table as recent as February, however, the infamous ‘February/March’ dip in form would commence, ultimately costing them their place in the title run. The team would recover to win each of their last 5 league games to comfortably secure 4^th place, however, their form left fans with almost a sense of disappointment that they should have ended better.

The season would end on a high as the club ended their painful 9 year wait to win a piece of silverware! A fine FA Cup run which included eliminations of: Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton and holders Wigan Athletic, culminated with a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Hull City in the May 17^th finale on May 17^th! The win cement Arsenal as the most winningest FA Cup side; collecting football’s oldest club competition for a 12^th time!   

The notable players that season were:

Nicklas Bendtnner, Joel Campbell, Lukas Podolski, Marouane Chamakh, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Gervinho, Mesut Ozil, Serge Gnabry, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andrey Arshavin, Kim Källström, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Thomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere Abou Diaby, Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini, Francis Coquelin, Gabriel, Nacho Monreal, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Sébastien Squillaci, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Bacary Sagna, Andre Santos, Mathieu Debuchy, David Ospina, Wojciech Szczesny, Łukasz Fabiański