Mesut Ozil has revealed in his new autobiography, Gunning for Greatness: My Life, that it’s Arsene Wenger who picks the shirt length for matches and not the club captain.
- Sleeve length is traditionally chosen by club captain
- Arsenal claim this tradition is important to them and upheld
- Ozil says Arsene Wenger decides
Traditionally, it’s the captain of the team who chooses whether the Arsenal players wear short or long sleeves during the match. It’s something we questioned this season when it appeared that Theo Walcott was wearing a different length to everyone else.
This was something the club denied at the time when we contacted them.
“With regards to the length of shirt sleeves for matches, this tradition is still continuing,” Football and Communications manager, Tom Bennett, told us.
“This tradition is important to us and the players are fully aware. However, on occasion, some either wear an under garment when we are wearing short sleeves, or roll up long sleeves.”
However, according to Ozil, it’s not the captain who picks the sleeve length, it’s actually the manager.
In his book, he even complains that sometimes he would like to wear a long-sleeved t-shirt under his kit on cold days, but it’s not allowed.
Obviously, as far as club issues go, especially right now, sleeve length isn’t exactly a massive deal.
However, it’s interesting that Ozil says one thing and the club says another.
