Arsenal are heading into the 2026/27 season with plenty of familiar faces, a handful of major additions and, apparently, a rather different approach to hairstyles.
The Gunners have already attracted plenty of attention during pre-season, but this time it has had very little to do with what is happening on the pitch. Instead, supporters have begun noticing a curious pattern emerging around the squad.
Bukayo Saka and Jurriën Timber have both appeared with fresh braided hairstyles, while Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke have also brought their own distinctive takes on braids and locs into the Arsenal dressing room.
Saka’s transformation has been the most noticeable. Having spent much of his Arsenal career with his familiar short hairstyle, the winger has now swapped it for neatly arranged braids ahead of the new campaign. He joined Arsenal’s academy in 2008, debuted in November 2018 and has since grown from Hale End prospect into one of the club’s key attacking stars.
Timber has quietly joined the transformation too, trading his usual short cut for neat braids during pre-season. Since arriving from Ajax in 2023, the versatile defender has become an increasingly important part of Arteta’s back line.
The trend becomes even harder to miss with Eze. His long locs have been part of his visual identity for years, while his recent red-tinted style makes for an especially fitting look in North London.
Source – @footballerfits on Instagram
And then there is Madueke, who rounds off the quartet rather naturally. The winger has regularly experimented with braided styles throughout his career, making his latest look fit comfortably alongside his new teammates after his 2025 move from Chelsea.
There was even a moment when Riccardo Calafiori appeared to be heading in the same direction.
Images of Calafiori sporting short braids circulated on Reddit, sparking jokes about the Italian joining Arsenal’s growing hair club. The moment soon became a football social-media copypasta, with fans even tying his supposed “braids era” to the infamous Bologna–Basel–Roma transfer saga. In reality, the braids were only temporary, while his trademark flowing hair and headband remained firmly intact.
The sudden transformation has unsurprisingly sent Arsenal fans into a frenzy, with supporters joking that the players must have all lost the same bet, while others have celebrated the looks as a proud display of Black hair and identity. The general consensus, however, seems to be that the Arsenal boys are simply “tapped in” when it comes to the latest styles.
The fascination with all of this is not entirely superficial. Braided hairstyles such as cornrows and box braids have deep roots in African and Black communities, where they have long served as protective hairstyles while also carrying cultural and personal significance. Over time, footballers have increasingly made these styles part of their public identities, turning something deeply personal into a recognisable part of their image on the pitch.
Arsenal have more history with that than most clubs.
The obvious starting point is Bacary Sagna, whose blonde-tipped braids became almost inseparable from the French right-back during his Arsenal career between 2007 and 2014. They were so distinctive that, alongside his overlapping runs down the right, they became part of the visual identity of one of the Premier League’s most recognisable full-backs.
Gervinho took a different route between 2011 and 2013, pairing long cornrows with a thick headband, while Alex Song regularly experimented with cornrows and dyed styles during his Arsenal years. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang revived the trend in 2021 with a brief set of long box braids inspired by Travis Scott,
and Héctor Bellerín also passed through his own braided phase during his famously experimental approach to fashion.
Even Armand Traoré, who spent his Arsenal years with shorter hair, eventually embraced long dreadlocks after leaving the club.
The current group therefore finds itself carrying on a surprisingly established Arsenal tradition. There is still, of course, considerably more at stake for these players than whose hairstyle attracts the most attention.
Saka contributed 11 goals across all competitions in 2025/26, while Eze finished with 10 and Madueke added seven. Timber, meanwhile, made 52 appearances across all competitions, underlining just how important the quartet could be to Arteta’s plans once the focus shifts from pre-season hairstyles back to football.
That shift is coming rather quickly. Arsenal will continue their preparations with a friendly against Como at the Emirates on August 12, before facing Manchester City in the Community Shield in Cardiff on August 16. Their Premier League title defence begins at home against Coventry City on August 21, when the football finally takes centre stage.
Whether the braids remain throughout the 2026/27 campaign is anyone’s guess. For now, however, Saka, Timber,Eberechi Eze and Madueke have given Arsenal supporters another small but entertaining storyline to follow as the new season draws closer.
