By Brian Bariyo Tumuramye
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was proud of his players for their support of the Black Lives Matter campaign ahead of their friendly with Brentford on Wednesday.
The Gunners wore t-shirts with a variety of messages on them, such as ‘I can’t breathe’, ‘My skin is not a crime’ and ‘I’m not black but I stand with you’, in support of the protests going on around the world.
They also took a knee before kick-off, a symbolic way to show support, popularised by American football player Colin Kaepernick, which is also being reviewed by Olympic organisers.
The Spaniard said the idea came from the players.
Arteta said on press “The thing that I like most is that it came from them.
“I got a phone call from the captain asking to do that, I spoke with the club straight away and we were very clear that we wanted to support their intentions, everyone collaborated, we created the shirt.
“It was a really strong message and it is more powerful because it comes from them. They think they have to support these types of causes.”
It came after West Indies captain Jason Holder said his team will consider taking the knee during next month’s Test series against England.
