THE VITALS:

Team: Arsenal

Brand: Puma

Era: 2018-19 (Used for the 2018-19 Premier League season and the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final)

Name/Number: Aubameyang #14

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

This shirt comes to you in excellent condition! While all of the respective applications are in excellent stead, there is quite some bobbling to the red material which makes the base of the shirt.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Extra Small (XS)

Pit to Pit Measurement: 17.5 inches

Shirt Length: 25 inches 

Made by Puma in their Puma ‘Dry Cell’ range of shirts which they introduced in 2018; true to Puma form, this quite a fitted shirt making it perfect for someone who would wear a conventional extra-small fitting shirt. I would avoid this shirt if you normally wear a size small owing to the length.

DESCRIPTION:

The fifth and final home shirt that would Puma would produce for Arsenal was yet another altogether unique offering that stands alone from their previous showings. After the refined and minimalist cherry red shirt which was adorned in 2017-18; the 2018-19 shirt was more of a successor to the 2016-17 shirt, as the contemporary adapted v-neck collar returned, while striking sharp angles broke up the red base of the shirt and the white epaulets dropped much lower now met the base of the collar. This shirt would take its place in history as the first home shirt to be worn in the post-Arsene Wenger-era as Unai Emery took the reins and guided the club to a 5^th place finish – missing out on a top-4 finish by just a point, and also to final of the Europa League where they were beaten by Chelsea. This would also be the last season at the club for the likes of: Petr Cech, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck, David Ospina, Laurent Koscielny, Alex Iwobi and Nacho Monreal!

THE SEASON:

The surreal finally happened at the Emirates Stadium at the end of the 2017/18 season as Arsene Wenger said goodbye and left the club after 22 years in charge! His final season would be mired in the toxicity that had surrounded the club in recent seasons, and the result was Arsenal failing to reach the top 4 for the second season in a row and with it, again, no Champions League football. Not even an FA Community Shield victory, Carabao Cup Final appearance or run to the Europa League semi-final could deflect from what was a disappointing end to Arsenal’s longest-serving and most successful manger in their history.

Unai Emery was announced as the club’s new manager at the close of the 2017-18 season, however, modern stalwarts of the club – Santi Cazorla, Per Mertesacker and Jack Wilshere would not be joining him as they all left the club in the summer of 2018. There would however, be a series of interesting signings ranging from youth to experience as the likes of: Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Bernd Leno all joined the club, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would have a full pre-season with Arsenal after his electric arrival in January!

Arsenal would have the unenviable task of welcoming the defending champions -Manchester City to the Emirates Stadium on the first Super Sunday of the season, and would be beaten 2-0, before falling to Chelsea by the same score in their next outing. Results would immediately pick up as Arsenal put together an unbeaten streak of 14 games; winning the first 7 of those games, and also battling to draws with both Liverpool and Manchester United, while besting Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 in the North London Derby on 2^nd December! Although they would lose twice more before the year ended; they would end 2018 in 5^th place.

Arsenal would start 2019 by seeing off Fulham 4-1 on New Year’s Day in the first of three London Derby’s in a row, however, they would next fall against West Ham, before getting revenge against Chelsea with a 2-0 win of their own on 19^th January. After suffering a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on 3^rd February, the club would embark on another 6 match unbeaten run, which included ending Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten league run on 10^th March! With the club in 4^th place; they would be in a 4-way dance that also included: Spurs, Chelsea and United with just 3 points separating them with 8 games to spare. Arsenal’s season would regrettably be let down by a poor final quarter of the season as they won just twice, and crucially, lost 5 of those last 8 games, and would have to settle to a 5^th place finish – missing out by just 1 point!

The domestic cup campaigns would lack the adventure of the league as they disappointingly fell against rivals – Tottenham, in the quarter final of the Carabao Cup, while their FA Cup adventure ended in the Fourth Round against Manchester United.

Their second foray in the UEFA Europa League began in Group E where they won the group; going unbeaten in all 6 of their clashes! Their opponents in the Round of 32 were BATE Borisov, where they would have to overcome a 1-0 deficit in the 1^st Leg, to prevail 3-1 on aggregate! Their next opponents – Rennes would win the 1^st Leg in France 3-1, before Arsenal overturned the deficit to win 4-3 on aggregate!

A glamour showdown with Napoli in the quarter final came next and they passed the test with flying colours – 3-0 over both legs! Spanish opposition again welcomed them in the semi-final, and they would exorcise the demons of 2018 when the defied Valencia 7-3 on aggregate to set up an all-English final versus Chelsea! After a goalless first half, Arsenal would capitulate in the second half; losing 4-1 in Baku.

The notable players that season were:

Alexandre Lacazette, Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck, Bukayo Saka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny, Denis Suarez, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira, Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding, Callum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy, Sead Kolašinac, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Hector Bellerin, Petr Cech, David Ospina, Bernd Leno