Ah, the mysterious third kit. What is it for? Why does it exist? Why does it, more often than not, hurt your eyes?

For some time now, clubs have been pretty consistent in releasing a third kit. It used to be purely for those playing in European competiton, but now even clubs like Burnley are getting involved for what can only be described as a money-making opportunity. Call me cynical but that just has to be the reason, right?

Do clubs even wear them enough to even justify selling them to the general public for a small fortune? Definitely not, but they're there anyway. Collecting dust in our draws at home, mostly still with the tags attached.

Some clubs have now decided to market these as 'second away kits' in an attempt to convince fans the strip will be worn on more than one occasion. But really, it's a third kit. That's all it is.

So we've taken a look at every third kit released in the Premier League and taken the liberty to rank them. It has to be the hardest thing we've done for some time because, quite frankly, most of them are offensive.

The good news is Watford and Brighton did the right thing and didn't release one. The rest of the Premier League should hang their heads in shame...

18. Aston Villa

So ugly even Villa will do their very best to avoid having to wear it. What's with the pattern on the front?

I need to stop looking at it, so let's move on.

17. Newcastle United

Newcaslte fans will tell you they love this because it was the kit worn by the Magpies when they beat Tottenham 1-0 earlier this season, but I'm not having that.

It's awful and needs binning. Honestly. Just scrap it now.

16. Manchester City

Nothing offends me more than football shirts that fade from one colour to another, especially when they're too bright colours like yellow and coral. It looks like an ice lolly.

Man City play some beautiful football, but this third kit does them no flavours.

15. Norwich City

It's not as tragic as some of the others, but I just can't get excited by it. The collar is a nice touch but other than that it's pretty average.

Teemu Pukki will no doubt score a few goals in it, which will make it all worthwhile for Norwich fans, but don't get excited too much.

14.Southampton

Have you noticed the trend with Southampton's shirts this year? They're all the exact same design, but just in different colours.

This third kit isn't actually that bad but I've ranked it down because of Under Armour's sheer laziness in their kit designs.

Completely underwhelming and downright lazy.

13. Crystal Palace

I've never been one for sashes on football shirts, especially when they're on recycled kits like this one.

Crystal Palace's third shirt this year is completely the same as last season's away shirt. An absolute disgrace. Why bother with it?

12. Chelsea

Black shirts are usually very classy numbers but the collar ruins this one. I just don't like it.

The red is a nice touch but if the collar was crewneck, we'd be laughing here. But it's not. A masterpiece ruined.

11. Burnley

Not as offensive as Villa's green third shirt, and it is elegantly simple, but it's also incredibly underwhelming.

Underwhelmingly simple. Umbro are usually pretty good for shirts, but not this time.

10. Sheffield United

As third shirts go, it isn't the worst. Adidas know what they're doing, but there's something about luminous kits that doesn't sit right with me.

I just don't get excited for them. It's just all a bit, meh.

9. Bournemouth

Another luminous shirt, but this one is only slightly made better by the blue trim on the sleeves.

I quite like that for some reason.

8. Manchester United

A black kit with a crew neck, which is exactly how it shout be. It's a nice little number, but the pattern prevents it from being ranked any higher.

Just leave all that nonsense off football shirts, please.

7. Tottenham Hotspur

I'm not ashamed to admit that I quite like it. It's simple, it's classic and it's quite classy too.

Fair play to Nike for this one, I'm sure Spurs fans are delighted with it.

6. Wolves

Wolves have a pretty good eye for nice kits and while this one looks a bit too much like Mexico for me, it's still a nice effort.

My only criticism is with the club crest. It looks a bit out of place and would've slotted in better if it was mono, or something like that anyway.

5. West Ham United

It looks more like a training top than a third kit, but training tops are normally nicer than the real thing anyway.

It's a nice shade of purple and doesn't offend your eyes with pointless features of patterns. It's to the point with a bit of a classic feel to it.

Just get rid of the pattern!

4. Everton

Just look at that. Simple, stylish, classy. Not overdoing it with all the ridiculousness of other third kits. It's just a genuinely nice little number.

Well done, Umbro and Everton.

3. Leicester City

I've already established that I'm not a fan of patterns, but this is the exception to the rule.

It's pink for a start, which gets a big tick in my book, while the design is just really nice and simple. It's just a lovely little number.

2. Liverpool

The mesh-like pattern on the front actually works, but it's the black an green that go quite nicely together.

It's not too in your face like some others and you can just picture Liverpool's front three looking pretty terrifying in it.

It's a lovely shirt, but there can only be one winner...

1. Arsenal

Oh Adidas, you've really returned to North London with a bang.

All three of Arsenal's kits this year are stunning and this third effort is as classy as they come.

Plain, simple, the right combination of blue and yellow, it's just really nice to look at. Really nice.