Are Arsenal basically ‘burned out’? The Mailbox starts there and descends into ‘woke’ debate

We start with some Arsenal but then quickly get into a discussion about Jordan Henderson and the term ‘woke’.

We don’t want any more mails on that subject but feel free to watch Liverpool and write about them. Send your views to theeditor@football365.com

Are Arsenal basically just knackered?
Does anyone else think Arsenal’s major problem in recent weeks has been that the team is completely burned out?

We were doing fine up until Christmas and then came game after game in a very short period and we came up short.

I appreciate it’s the same for everybody but Saka in particular has looked a shadow of his former self.

I’ll stand corrected if the boys return from warm weather training in Dubai and are still pants against Forest and Palace. But it’s just a thought.
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London

READ: Mikel Arteta 10th, Ten Hag 21st in Premier League manager rankings

Why didn’t Arsenal properly upgrade their keeper?
I want to piggy back on something another Arsenal fan mentioned recently (Roscoe I think) regarding still needing to improve our spine.

First of all – big facts. Seriously, how much money are we going to invest in people who can play fullback? Some of these rumours make no sense. Secondly, it highlights one real mistake (of a few/several, none of which are the “failure” to pluck non-readily available world-class strikers off the mythical shelf – that’s another mail) Arteta/Edu have made that I’ve mainly been thinking about in hindsight but was a questionable decision to begin with.

I’ll start with talking about Aaron Ramsdale. I have refrained from going on about this more as a tacit measure of support for our keeper than anything but I have never, ever considered Ramsdale to be our long-term keeper. The reality is he’s been a relatively average keeper at worst and at best just clearly not up to top-level standard. And on top of that, he’s only regressed since his initial slight upturn in form that started in the first half of his first season after he started off honestly quite averagely to even begin with.

In all honesty, his reputation (especially in the media/Arsenal fans in this mailbox) is living off performances from 2 years ago. Performances that were never consistently good to begin with – I’ve always questioned his positioning, he had all the same distribution teething problems Raya has had but people have short memories so don’t remember that and his performances that year were really propped up by some show-stopping saves (the save against Maddison vs. Leicester comes to mind).

He has never been that good and he’s only regressed if anything – the stats (look them up yourself if you care to know these things) back this up. I’ve wanted to replace Ramsdale since early last season and I wasn’t surprised at all to hear that Arteta/Edu felt the same this past summer.

What did surprise me was their solution – another more or less similar keeper (in terms of overall ability) that was not a clear upgrade? To create “competition” by having two players for each position?

Look, easy to say in hindsight but honestly it was questionable at the time…why not just sell (more likely given the scenario loan + option to buy) Ramsdale and actually upgrade the position?

We’ve now spent roughly £53 million on two keepers who are more or less going to produce the same results. And one now may and probably wants to leave. This isn’t really hindsight – and again I’ll go back to the comments they made about creating competition – because it clearly was not an actual upgrade. So it was totally futile and has clearly now caused more problems than it solved – but was this hard to predict?

Anyway, we have a really good squad and one that has developed overall well ahead of schedule. I’m happy with it but ultimately we still need massive help at keeper (and striker obviously and quality in midfield is something that should be stocked regardless).

We won’t see the full potential of this team until at least those two positions get filled with truly world-class players. Does it mean we can’t win something before then? Who knows (probably not one of the big ones) but ultimately I’d rather be a team who jumped ahead of schedule (which is the main cause of rival fans to make criticisms that are extremely out of context) and needs to finalize a couple positions than be…Chelsea or United.
MAW, LA Gooner (We’ll be fine.)

Here we go again on Hendo…
Remember when the mailbox was full of nothing but people arguing about Jordan Henderson? One day someone would write in to say ‘we’d all take the money’ or ‘why don’t you complain about the other players who have moved to Saudi?’. I stopped reading for a while, it was everywhere and it was non-stop.

I guess I’m not the only one who stopped reading though because I’m sure at least once a day someone would respond by pointing out none of those other players had made such public allies of themselves. Someone would talk about how other players admitted they had gone for huge chunks of cash but not Hendo, no Hendo insulted the intelligence of all of us by insisting he was out there to grow the game, to progress human rights and to keep on being an ally.

We all knew he was full of it, we all knew he was set for life, and we all knew in that moment he never meant a f**king word he said, he just used his reputation as an ally to grow his brand, and threw it all out the window the second a bit more money was offered. Not like he’d have been stacking shelves to keep the heating on after retirement anyway.

Jordan Henderson used to be one of the very few footballers I respected, and someone I was proud to call the captain of my club. It took him one interview to show me how wrong I was, and I’m glad he’s miserable.
Anon

Don’t be so harsh on Henderson
A comment under the Henderson article says: ‘I agree with everything said in the piece but also think it should never have been published for the very reason you have indicated.’ referring to the idea of a ‘hit piece’ and the previous articles on mental health. I wish I’d been able to put it as succinctly.

I’ve always defended F365 as an opinion website, which is why articles sometimes contradict each other, but this really didn’t sit well with me. I totally understand why you may dislike Henderson, and that it is totally justified, but 1000s of words and consistent references in other articles just seems so tabloidy.

On a different note, I work in the Eastleigh area with young people, and the place is absolutely buzzing with potential of Ten Hag’s rabble rocking up at the Silverlake. Whilst they still need to get past Newport in the first instance, the excitement of watching Holjund’s missed chances ending up in Stoneham Park, Antony cutting inside to no effect and Sancho being at home on his PS5 is reaching fever pitch. Inevitably they’ll lose the replay and deny us all of this, but there’s such a lovely atmosphere of excitement around the area which, to speak in cliches is ‘what the FA Cup’s all about’. It’s really heartening amongst state-backed takeovers and eye-watering contracts.

Hope you’re all doing well.
Stu, Southampton

Woke corner
Matt Pitt has very neatly summed up the problem with people chucking around ‘woke’ as an insult – the word means very different things to different people, so even if someone can define it, their definition is probably wrong and certainly different to the person they are trying to insult.

For the record, ‘woke’ means to be aware of the struggles, injustices and discrimination that exist in the world. Literally to have your eyes open and be awake. It is not performative (that would be virtue signalling). Henderson going to Saudi after being an ally for LGBTQ+ issues for so long is not woke, it shows that he either didn’t truly believe what he was saying in the past (virtue signalling) or that his principles can be bought for the right price (hypocritical).

I agree with you that Lineker is the definition of woke, but not the definition you think it to be. This is a man that has actually housed an asylum seeker and uses his platform to speak up for those unable to do so for themselves – it may be easier to do this from a position of wealth, but many people with the same level of wealth choose to say nothing. I met Lineker once and he was a bit of a dick, but despite this I have respect for him being willing to put his head above the parapet for things he actually believes in.

Henderson was defended last summer because ‘he was just doing the right thing to secure the future generations of his family’. Now he wants to come home and will take a huge pay cut (probably less than he was on at Liverpool), can we accuse him of hating his family and putting their futures in jeopardy? Of course not, because he is already extremely wealthy, which further shows that moving there was a terrible idea. The other argument was that you would move jobs for more money, while potentially true, going from £30k to £32k per year, or even £70k to £80k is very different to a multi millionaire just trying to hoover up more money. And when you are being paid way more than market value, you have to question what else they are buying beyond your footballing ability (the same applies to tobacco firms or gambling companies that pay more than other sectors).

Look, Henderson has not attacked anyone, and I agree that he seems like a good guy that has potentially made a mistake. If he moves to a decent league and plays well until the end of the season then he may well deserve a place in the Euros squad and I will celebrate any success he may have, but let’s not pretend he has done anything other than trash a well earned reputation for the sake of a few quid that he did not need.
Andy the Hammer

…Matt Pitt’s email yesterday contained a definition of woke as “To be woke is to pretend to a moral virtue you do not really possess”

However, the Cambridge Dictionary describes it as: “aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality”

Perhaps Matt has been listening to the likes of Farage, Piers Morgan, etc, too much – but I think I’ll stick with the dictionary definition thanks Matt.
Simon “Woke” S, Cheshire

…The word he’s looking for is hypocrite. Woke is Afro-American slang from the 1930s for seeing things as they really are.

Also, telling people off for using the wrong meaning of a word when you can’t be bothered to find out the actual meaning of that word is ironically funny, but also a bit hypocritical. Like Matt Pitt writing in to talk about the meaning of the word Woke.

Hope that example helps, Matt.
Andrew M, Wide Awake in Streatham

…Assume from the tone of your email you probably watch GB News and read the Daily Mail?

People who seem to incessantly go on about ‘woke’ are right wing head bangers. They’ve got nothing else. Just a manufactured culture war.

I’d say being woke means you’re not a massive c**t
Chris

…I’d like to challenge the astounding ignorance of Matt Pitt. Whilst I’m usually more inclined to challenge the ever-evolving arrogant and laughable excuses and dissembling from Arsenal fans… Calling a ceasefire for today and focusing my ire on make-believe Matt.

I’m taking a wild guess that Matt is a white man, who is currently “explaining” what’s wrong with the term “woke”?

Just to be clear on the etymology of this word: the term “woke” derives from Afro-American vernacular. Its origins are rooted in the racial segregation and discrimination that Blacks faced in Jim Crow Amerikkka. A white man using a Black term he scarcely understands, in a derisory way, starts off problematic. And not just because of the ignorance.

The now-pejorative use of the word “Woke” as some twisted, imbecilic Daily Mail indicator of “virtue signalling” (🥱🙄) is a classic hijack tactic by the bigoted right. The term “woke” was originally used as one to promote Black political consciousness, in a racist, segregated Western world. “Woke” literally exists because of the roots of white supremacy! It was also a method used by Blacks to highlight the need to stay safe in “sundown towns” (US towns where you’re effectively dead after the sun sets, if you walk around as a Black man). You can read about the trial of the Scottsboro Boys.

The term has literally been in existence since the 1920s but oddly, we only see its regular, derisory use post-2020 and Daily Mail clamour. By (white) people who often have absolutely zero clue where it originated, what it means etc. But it’s great that these people have suddenly become racial justice experts overnight though eh! 🤣

As for comparing the clearly-repugnant Hamas terror cell to 1930s Germany, without having a single basic understanding of how international law confers obligations onto State Actors (who’s that then? 🤔) via eg the Geneva Conventions; is quite a reassuringly idiotic thing to say – and confirms you’ve never obviously picked up a book in your life. So cool dude, stick with your MAGA-logic 🤣🤣
Stewie Griffin (With delusion of that level I’d hazard a guess you might be an Arsenal fan?)

…Henderson gets more stick because he positioned HIMSELF as a bastion of morality before choosing to abandon those self-publicised principles in favour of slightly more money. Not life changing sums, just a bit more on top of an already vast pile. And then he used a PR exercise to attempt to justify his choice, defend it, and claim he was not only there to help change society, but also that it didn’t even really need changing because everything was quite wonderful already thank you.

He gets grief because he showed the world his words meant nothing, and that his allyship was a hollow and self-serving lie. And still never had even the slightest bit of decency, as evidenced by his ongoing refusal to admit his hypocrisy, his greed, and his choice to publicly lie without a hint of shame.

Oh, but he was nice to a kid? Cool. I’m sure that will help the next murdered homosexual that Jordan is definitely going to help one day, if he has time, and if his paymasters say it’s okay. Because if anyone can tell him how he feels, it’s the person with the biggest wallet.

Defending millionaires who make horrible choices is still f**king weird, and truly embarrassing behaviour.

And while we’re on the subject of f**king weird, if Matt Pitt thinks Hamas are the ones acting like 1930s Germany then I suggest he brushes up on his history and his current affairs, and recognises the live and ongoing genocide that is taking place. But hey, why concern yourself with the bombing of children when you’ve got a f**king point to make about the word ‘woke’. Because that’s definitely what’s important right now.

Imagine how nice this world could be if so many people weren’t so f**king keen to defend disgusting behaviour and the c***s who engage in it?
thayden

Get to the point!
Why does every article have to open with the same re-spouted set of paragraphs? Every time I click on a Man Utd news piece, be it about Jadon Sancho, or the club’s new investors and footballing-side controllers, I have to wade through paragraph after paragraph of context setting.

We know this already – it’s been going on for ever, just get to the point of the actual update, we don’t need chapter and verse of the whole epic Glazer sale, price change, year-long saga – just give us the bloody update in the first paragraph please! Same with Sancho – yes he disrespected, tweeted, hasn’t trained blah, blah, blah – that’s not required anymore.

Just pony up the intel on whether he’s getting his stubborn lazy arse out of the door. Time is money! Thanks!
Red Jim

(Time is money, Red Jim, which is why we need you to stay on the page for longer. Sorry – Ed)

What’s up Dave?
“Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea is just a great big nothing”
“Jordan Henderson bumwash has trashed his reputation in five Saudi Arabian months”
“Klopp and Arteta are both bleeps”
“Very, very easy to laugh at the very idea of Spurs signing infamous Chelsea flop Timo Werner.”

Is Dave Tickner doing dry January or something? He seems to be in a really bad mood.
Mike, LFC, Dubai

(The ad people have said we can’t swear anymore and it has damn near killed him – Ed)

Where’s my commission?
I sent you an letter yesterday entitled ‘Mediawatching F365’, regarding a headline you had written about Roy Keane which was misleading and did not reflect the quoted comments from Keane in the body of the article below. I did not really expect it to be published, but you never know!

Imagine my surprise when I read Mediawatch this morning, and saw the last section headlined ‘Mediawatching F365’ and the rest pretty much copying my letter verbatim.

Am I due a commission? Am I now an F365 staffer – I already have a job but I’m open to an offer!
A, LFC, Montreal (represented by R.Giuliani, S.Powell, A. Habba & Company)

(No – Ed)