Has Linford Christie jumped the gun on this one? Former Olympic 100m champion tweets picture of Thierry Henry in a Puma Arsenal kit

But is it the official 2013-14 strip when the suppliers replace Nike in a Premier League record deal?

(L-R) Bacary Sagna, Linford Christie, Thierry Henry and Olivier Giroud pictured together with Henry wearing a Puma-branded Arsenal kit (Twitter)

Each year, pictures emerge on the internet claiming to be the latest kit release for the new season, triggering floods of debate over whether fans approve of the design, or whether the pictures are fake and the strip has been made up.

However, when a former Olympic 100m champion tweets a picture of a club legend wearing the kit, alarm bells start to ring quite loudly.

That’s exactly what the 1992 100m Olympic Gold medallist Linford Christie did, posting a picture of himself alongside the club’s all-time record goalscorers Thierry Henry, as well as current stars Olivier Giroud and Bacary Sagna.

What’s suspicious about that, you may ask? Well, Henry can be seen wearing a Puma-made Arsenal strip, with the kit supplier set to produce the Gunners merchandise from next season after agreeing a Premier League record £30m-per-year deal.

Giroud can also be seen wearing a Puma-branded Arsenal top, and Christie was quick to delete the picture off his account, leading to further rumours that this kit could be a genuine one.

Nike have made the north London side’s kit since they began their partnership in 1994, but Puma will take over the task from next summer, ending the 20-year relationship between the two.

The Independent spoke to Arsenal FC, with a club spokesperson saying: “We do not comment on speculation, and will make an announcement around the future of our kit partnership in due course.”

The picture has already gone viral on social media site Twitter, and so far it appears to have got a good reaction from fans of the current Premier League leaders.

But what do you think of it?

(Twitter/@ScottyDavisAFC)

(Twitter/@TP_Arsenal)