Why Was Mamdani Wearing an Arsenal Top? | Shirt in a Box
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wore a custom thobe made from Arsenal's 2025/26 away jersey at Eid al-Adha prayers in the Bronx on May 27, 2026. He has been a lifelong Arsenal supporter, and the outfit appeared days after the club ended their 22-year wait for a Premier League title. The viral photo of him greeting worshippers at Macombs Dam Park has been viewed over a million times.
Who is Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani is New York City's first Muslim mayor and currently one of the most-watched political figures in the country. Born in Uganda and of South Asian heritage, he has talked openly for years about his support for Arsenal, the North London soccer club, including a recent interview where Arsenal legend Ian Wright recorded him a surprise video message.
What jersey was it actually
The garment was a custom-tailored thobe cut from the design of Arsenal's 2025/26 away jersey. The deep navy base, the heavy red zigzag chevrons running collar to hem, the Emirates Fly Better sponsor across the chest, the Visit Rwanda branding worked into the upper sleeves. It is the same away shirt Arsenal wore during most of their title-winning Premier League season.
The tailoring blended South Asian kurta styling with Gulf thobe construction: structured collar, embroidery, paired trousers, side slits. Reports suggest the garment was custom-made specifically for the event.
Why this jersey, why this moment
Two things made the moment land. First, the timing. Arsenal had just won the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years. For any American Arsenal fan, the away jersey is the shirt of the title-winning season. Second, the venue. Eid al-Adha is the holier of the two major Islamic festivals. Wearing his club at a public prayer service was Mamdani folding faith, heritage and soccer into a single garment.
"Our solidarity is our strength. Eid Saeed, New York," he wrote on X. The post crossed a million likes within hours.
Arsenal also happen to have one of the largest American supporter bases of any Premier League club, which is part of why the moment cut through with US soccer audiences in a way almost no other Premier League jersey appearance could have.
Where can you get an Arsenal jersey like it
The custom thobe itself is not for sale anywhere. But the Arsenal 25/26 away jersey it was made from is one of the most in-demand soccer shirts in the world right now, partly because of the title win and partly because of the cultural attention this moment has brought to it.
You can buy the away jersey directly from Arsenal, from major sports retailers, or you can do what a growing number of US collectors are doing instead. Let the jersey find you.
Shirt in a Box ships an authentic, hand-picked soccer jersey to your door every month, sourced from clubs across Europe and beyond. You tell us your size and the kinds of clubs you are open to. We send you a shirt you would never have picked yourself. The whole point is the moment of opening the box and finding something unexpected, the same way Mamdani's tailor surprised an entire internet with one fit.
Plenty of our US subscribers have pulled Arsenal shirts over the past year. A few have pulled the exact away jersey Mamdani turned into a thobe.
If this week has reminded you that a soccer jersey is not just a soccer jersey anymore, Shirt in a Box is the most fun way back into the hobby.
