PUMA begin to show their hand for 2018 as Olivier Giroud slipped into an unreleased silo in Arsenal training this morning. Set to lead the brand into the 2018 World Cup, the new design will look to build the success of the current evoPOWER Vigor and PUMA ONE.
Giroud has been wearing the evoPOWER series this season but on first inspection the blackout boots he's sporting here look more like a second-generation of the ONE series. Throw in the fact that Gigi Buffon has already worn the same design and it's probably safe to assume that we're looking at a new ONE. The new design sticks to the same silhouette as the current series but features a more prominent design on the instep to provide a more obvious element of control technology to the update.
PUMA made the dramatic decision to replace the evoSPEED with the ONE series at the beginning of the 2017/18 season and it's proved to be a success thus far. Sergio Aguero and Antoine Griezmann are in fine form and the boot has been established as an all-rounder with exquisite fit. Of course, in comparison to the evoSPEED the current ONE 17.1 model does look a little bulkier, but Giroud's blackouts indicate a more-streamlined, synthetic upper on the next-gen series may solve that potential issue.
Giroud wasn't alone in test-driving blacked out next-generation boots at Arsenal training; teammate Aaron Ramsey was also laced up in a mystery New Balance silhouette. It's that time of the year when brands begin to drip their next-generation projects into the mix, and with it being a World Cup year you'd bank on the pace being upped by the week.
