How Arsenal became synonymous with black identity and culture

This season Arsenal have celebrated their African heritage and connection with the continent with their away kit, with its colour scheme matching the pan-African flag.

Sierra Leone-born Foday Dumbuya designed the jersey and its official trailer was filmed in the country’s capital Freetown.

“It was nice to take it back to where I’m from, to look at the way kids connect with football, the way people look at football back in Africa, because football is life,” Dumbuya said.

As someone who was brought up in London, Dr Nwonka describes an Arsenal shirt as “the uniform” of the city.

He feels a similar trend is mirrored on the African continent.

Saka, born in London to Nigerian parents, is worshipped by Arsenal fans as a ‘starboy’ – a slang term for a young male celebrity – and was a big part of the launch of the new away kit and its associated clothing collection.

The 23-year-old has clocked up over 230 appearances for the Gunners and has been vocal about fighting racism and cultural insensitivity in the game.

“He transcends his race in many ways. He has a cross-cultural appeal being British and Nigerian,” said Dr Nwonka.

As such, the baby-faced winger has cemented himself as a Premier League and international regular, and is an inspiration for the next generation of footballers and supporters regardless of their background.

He is the latest in Arsenal’s growing history of black icons.

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