Arsenal players take knee and wear Black Lives Matter shirts before Brentford friendly

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Joe Krishnan11 June 2020

Arsenal showcased support for the Black Lives Matter movement ahead of their friendly against Brentford on Wednesday.

Players and manager Mikel Arteta all took a knee ahead of kick-off in their latest warm-up friendly at Emirates Stadium, while they also wore warm-up t-shirts bearing messages in support of the movement.

"Silence is violence", "I stand with you", "Colour is not a crime", "Listening and learning" and "We stand for change" were some of the messages featured on those black t-shirts, while other players wore tops with "I can't breathe" written across the front.

"We stand in solidarity" was the message written on the t-shirt worn by Arteta.

The team's gesture comes after mass anti-racism protests across the world sparked by the death of American George Floyd in police custody in May.

Premier League players have been urged to kneel before games by Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari in order to show solidarity with the movement, with clubs now in discussions with the League.

Arsenal will return to domestic action with a trip to face Manchester City on June 17, but Arteta's men showed they still have some improvements to make after losing to Brentford at their empty stadium.

The hosts slipped to a 3-2 defeat against the Championship outfit, with Alexandre Lacazette and Joe Willock on the scoresheet.

Arsenal won comfortably in their first match since the coronavirus pandemic on Saturday, beating Charlton Athletic 6-0 with the help of an Eddie Nketiah hat-trick.

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