FROM HALE END TO HATE MAIL
On Arsenal’s Black academy stars, and why being brilliant on the pitch won’t protect them off it.
Have you ever owned a football shirt?
Not a Jersey, not #Merch for some ‘soccer’ franchise, a football shirt.
No? Allow me to explain the difference.
Football isn’t Footie.
It’s not a weekend pastime for your working-class cosplay. It’s not a niche sport “Those Euro boys take super seriously dude”. Football is a religion. More than mere tribalism, more than a game. Its bigger than England, Europe or even the northern hemisphere.
Football is the world’s game.
You don’t get to choose your national team, that’s down to birth, bloodline, or, in some cases, moral compass. But forget the politics of pride for a second. This is about something closer. Something personal. This is about the local.
Local pride can be deeper.
Some say you get to pick your club; I believe it should always come down to proximity. Where you're from should be reflected in the badge you wear, it's more than geography, it's identity.
For parents who position their kids in local grass root organisations, the pathway to a career is a long one. For my Banana foot, it wasn’t an option. The ball never did what I asked it to. I’ve claimed conspiracy, but if I’m honest, I was crap at the game. Thank God I found the drama group.
#nojazzhands
If it wasn’t obvious already, I’m an Arsenal fan. Raised locally, indoctrinated early. Never been a full kit Wanker, always been a song singing supporter. Arsenal is my longest and most painful relationship. The highs? Better than sex, but those lows though? …mate. Worse than the worst Ex.
Today, the club I love is betting big on homegrown academy product. Local boys whose parents entrusted the badge with their boys since childhood. A value system and culture that would shape exactly the kind of young men their offspring could grow into. And it seems to be working...
Hale End is the home of the Arsenal youth academy and its reputation has always been stellar, but of late, it’s become a ‘star boy’ factory. A path to the first team isn’t promised, yet many have seen their dreams fulfilled either in an Arsenal shirt, or with another premier league club.
Last month, I sat down with Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker, Arsenal’s First Team Manager and Head of the Academy respectively. The name on everyone’s lips? Max Dowman. He’s 15, still in school, and already being lined up for the pre-season tour with the first team. GCSEs in one hand, a Premier League call-up in the other. The hype isn’t just noise, it’s real.
While Max may claim his place as one of the youngest to do it, he certainly won’t be the first teenager to pull on a first team shirt.
Still only 23, Bukayo Saka’s been carrying Arsenal on those fearless young shoulders since his teens. The poster child for a well-oiled academy to first team pipeline, unofficially, he’s the face of the club. And thank God he’s built for it, because the job description goes way beyond turning up and doing bits on the pitch.
Bukayo embodies a bridge between Arsenal's Black legacy (Wright, Henry, Viera, Rocastle) and its future, actively mentoring first team new boys, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri. Saka's handling of Euro 2020 racism was a masterclass in resilience, a cross no teenager should have to bear, yet star boy has only become stronger as a result.
Who better to act as a guide through the psychological toll of achieving your biggest dream, while having to navigate hate that has nothing to do with your football ability.
The 24/25 season was a break out for 18-year-old Lewis-Skelly. He delivered defensive and attacking performances beyond his years, goals for club and country, and a maturity circumventing any off-field controversy or social media missteps. The kid played a perfect hand.
Last week saw the video announcement of the teenager’s long-term contract, securing a spot at the club’s highest level until 2030. With a mother doubling as an agent and a gushing father barely able to contain his pride, his story is one of family, graft and values. Not forgetting his adorable tour of the stadium with his beaming ‘gran-gran’.
During the video, she referred to Saka as her ‘other grandson’, both the cheeky act of claiming another successful young man as her own, but Moreso due to his role in guiding her actual grandchild. Guidance much needed at the height of MLS criticism.
During Arsenal’s 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City, Myles not only scored, but enacted sweet revenge by pulling the “Zen” celebration made famous by City’s star striker Erling Haaland. The same striker who screamed “who the F*** are you” in the face of a very green Myles at the final whistle of their 2-2 clash earlier in the season.
Articles, podcasts and think pieces came thick and fast. Unsurprisingly, criticism was the loudest noise. The expected racial slurs flooded social media, but the most worrying thing about the reaction, was the pundits.
A tidal wave of thinly veiled racism was everywhere and it stank. The most egregious example being Talk Sport pundit Jason Cundy, openly stating on air that Myles deserves to get his legs broken for his celebration.
I wish I was joking.
Arsenal legend and much-loved pundit Ian wright passionately spoke out off the back of the unchecked rhetoric.
“British media have found their new target and are already taking aim. Instead of hailing up this 18-year-old’s impressive breakout season so far, his celebration in response to Haaland has become a point of contention.”
I was one of the many likes on social media, as he vocalised an uncomfortable truth.
“The talk around Myles’ name is entering dangerous territory - What is branded as shit-housery for some, is seen as arrogance for another.”
And that my Pedigree Chums, is the kicker.
The loudest voices in football discourse and punditry were quick to label the teenager as a trouble maker, while similar incidents involving sin bin mainstays Neal Maupay and Jamie Vardy, both known for routinely provocative celebrations, face little scrutiny or consequence.
The reaction to Lewis-Skelly was less surprising than it was revealing. A young Black player shows confidence, a bit of flair, and suddenly he’s labelled cocky, disrespectful, pick your insult. His celebration might’ve ruffled feathers, but the outrage said more about the people watching than the kid playing.
The media and pundit class have a track record here… Rashford, Sterling, Sancho, Saka, all received torrents of abuse online after England’s Euro 2020 final loss. A 2021 PFA report found Black players are four times more likely to receive online abuse than their white teammates. So no, the outcry wasn’t just unfair, it was expected. It’s a familiar pattern in English football… talent’s fine, as long as it knows its place.
Confident, talented young Black players have always provoked outsized reactions, it’s nothing new. The pattern is obvious to most, but if you’re still in denial, take a moment to compare how the media treats Black players versus their white peers. A quick search will tell you everything you need to know.
Raheem Sterling buys his mum a house and it’s framed as flash, too much, too showy. Another, slightly less Melanated star does the same and suddenly he’s a working-class fairy tale. His dip in form? Barely a whisper. Meanwhile, Raheem gets dragged every time he touches the ball. Let’s not forget, this ‘form dipping star’ has a rags-to-riches story including his five-year-old son rocking a diamond-studded Rolex… but apparently, that’s just good taste. Right?
Marcus Rashford turns up to a basketball game, sits court side in diamonds, and suddenly he’s doing too much, he’s flashy, distracted, not focused on football. Another player gets white-girl wasted at a title parade and he’s just a lad. A man of the people. No questions about professionalism, no think pieces. Just vibes.
Irrespective of the mess that is tabloid journalism, MLS’ debut speaks to the future of black and brown boys from the academy, with a pattern established as to the reaction they’ll no doubt receive, there’s a nose hair burning whiff of no fear.
With a support system in place, the next crop of teenagers currently being groomed to light up the highest tier of English football are not only prepared for the inevitable, they’re being mentored to manage the onslaught.
The MLS contract is more than another young baller, becoming a BALLER. This is a top tier club committing to teenage talent, that happens to be black.
A talent with a black woman guiding his career.
His success represents a possible future for English football: talent will out, regardless of what the pundits believe to be the ceiling for black boys.
Lewis Skelly and Nwaneri are just the beginning. They may be part of a long and storied history of culture and club; they’re also putting fire in the bellies of an academy full of working-class white kids and children of immigrants. The one’s that were never expected to make it, let alone show zero fear when they do.
This is the confidence of youth meeting the weight of history, teenagers carrying both Arsenal's legacy and the burden of inevitable prejudice.
You capture the tension of being both celebrated and criticized in the public eye with clarity. I’m curious—how do you stay grounded and maintain focus when the backlash isn’t just about the work, but feels personal? Appreciate the honesty in this!
This piece held me at the edge of my seat like a full on footy match. I don’t even support AFC but you could’ve persuaded me to rethink this😂 But on the real it’s the fans that hold the cuffs and should do more to start the conversations about how players should be portrayed. There is a looming bias when it comes to melanated players in regards to the other side and that has long overplayed its side as each brings a piece to the field and should be respected as such. Mentoring is the go to support for all sides at the moment so any other solutions would have to be pushed by the mainstream fans and fanatics. A very thought provoking piece nonetheless. Can we get you on match of the day?🤔