THE VITALS:

Team: Arsenal

Brand: Nike

Era: 2010-11 (Used for the 2010-11 Premier League seasons and for the 2011 Carling  Cup Final)

Name/Number: Arshavin #23

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

Had the sponsor regrettably not been coming away, I would have no doubt saying this shirt is in excellent condition! The shirt material, Nike swoosh, club crest and the felt name and numbering an Premier League crests on the sleeve however are all in fine order.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Medium

Pit to Pit Measurement: 20.5 inches

Shirt Length: 28.5 inches 

Made by Nike in their first iteration of their ‘Dri-Fit’ mould which they introduced in 2010; these shirts were still roomier than their successors, and this shirt I believe would easily fit someone who wears size large shirt.

DESCRIPTION:

For the first time since the home shirt used between 2002-04, Nike would put together a strictly red and white home shirt for Arsenal as the club began their first season of the 2010’s! After the home shirt used between 2008-10 which was almost a successor to the shirt used between 2000-02; the 2010-11 effort was more akin to the home shirt worn during 2006-08; albeit with the amber accents now done away with. It is really quite the classy and minimal shirt, with simply a thick white hoop collar breaking up the red body of the shirt, while thick red hoops break up the white sleeves. This shirt would be remembered mostly for when the club reached the Carling Cup Final – their first cup final appearance since 2007, as well as their legendary comeback win over Barcelona in the 1^st Leg of their Last 16 clash in the Champions League on 16^th February 2011. Although ‘The Gunners’ would finish 4^th, they would spend all but 4 rounds outside of the top 3 – 20 rounds of which were either in 1^st or 2^nd place! This would also be the last home shirt to be worn by club captain – Cesc Fabregas as Barcelona finally captured their man after what felt like a never ending pursuit, as well the last for modern stalwarts – Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Eboue and Samir Nasri.

THE SEASON:

After match-day 33 on 3^rd April 2010; Arsenal were just 3 points adrift of league leader’s and eventual Premier League winners – Chelsea, and then a run of 4 games without a win would see them eventually finish 3^rd and fall 11 points behind; however, there was always the sense of ‘what could have been’ at the end of the 2009-10 season.

Arsenal would be buoyed as they were able to retain the services of club captain – Cesc Fabreges amidst the continued advances of Barcelona following his part in Spain’s World Cup triumph that summer, while there were also exciting arrivals in the form of: Marouane Chamakh, Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci who joined a squad that also featured the likes of: Abou Diaby, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, Tomas Rosicky, Samir Nasir, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin.

The defensive recruits especially would need to embed quickly, as there were a host of senior players who were let go in the summer including: Philippe Senderos, William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre, Sol Campbell and Eduardo.

Arsenal would begin their pursuit for a first league title since 2003-04 by visiting Liverpool on the opening day of the season, and would need a Pepe Reina own goal in stoppage time to come away with a 1-1 draw. Arsene Wenger’s side would win their next 3 before failing to win in the next 3 games that followed. From there, they would enjoy a fantastic 2010 portion of the season where they won 8 of their remaining 12 league games of the year to go into 2011 in 2^nd place and just 2 points behind Manchester United.

The 3-1 win over Chelsea on 27^th December would set the tone for an incredible unbeaten run of 16 games where they split 8 wins and 8 draws as they stayed within contention of the title, and even after being stunned 2-1 by Bolton Wanderers on 24^th April; Arsenal would defeat Manchester United 1-0 at home on 1^st May to close the gap to 6 points with 3 games to spare; failure to win in any of their last 3 games would see them have to settle for a 4^th place finish – missing out on a 3^rd or 2^nd place berth by just 3 points.

In the cup competitions, Arsenal leveraged their fine league form to mount a run to the League Cup Final where they were stunned 2-1 by Birmingham City in the 27^th February finale in what was Arsenal’s first cup final appearance since 2007. Just two weeks later on 12^th March, they would then be eliminated by Manchester United in the Sixth Round of the FA Cup.

The UEFA Champions League campaign would begin in the Group Stage this term after having to navigate the play-off in 2009, and they were drawn in Group H alongside – Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Partizan and 2 defeats away from home would condemn them to a 2^nd place finish where they were met with a rematch of their quarter final in 2010 against FC Barcelona. This blockbuster tie began with Arsenal coming from a goal behind to upset the tournament favourites 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium in the 1^st Leg! The 2^nd Leg in Spain would see Robin van Persie controversially sent off and Barcelona would prevail 3-1 on the night and go through at the expense of the Premier League side.

The notable players that season were:

Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Carlos Vela, Robin van Persie, Marouane Chamakh, Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri, Aaron Ramsey, Arshavin, Cesc Fabregas, Denilson, Thomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere, Alex Song, Abou Diaby, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny, Sébastien Squillaci, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Bacary Sagna, Johan Djourou, Emmanuel Eboue, Gael Clichy, Wojciech Szczesny, Łukasz Fabiański, Jens Lehmann