Fan blogger Mark Carlaw assesses the impact Carl Jenkinson has had this season...
When I told Arsenal fans I know (in my family and at work) last summer that we were looking to sign Carl Jenkinson on loan, they all responded the same – ‘No way’, ‘Never’, ‘Wenger wouldn’t allow it’… and I must admit I wasn’t convinced myself. However it did happen - and I’m so glad it did.
Jenkinson has quite simply been a revelation for us this season. He slotted straight into our first team and immediately looked a player who has been at the club for years. This may have been helped by the fact that Jenkinson is a local lad really. Born in Harlow, Essex, he started his footballing career at a stone's throw away Charlton Athletic, before of course moving on to Arsenal, at 19-years-old.
Since his loan arrival from the Gunners in July last summer, I was taken aback by how good Jenkinson really is. Not only a player with obvious quality, but also a player that plays consistently at such a high level. In fact, I struggle to think of any match this season in which Jenkinson has had an ‘off day’.
And this of course is reflected in his performances for the England U21s. On Monday night I watched our young Three Lions claim a fantastic 3-2 win over Germany, and once again Jenkinson put in an outstanding performance. It’s something that I think made all West Ham fans proud, and no doubt with the Premier League season drawing to a close, hope that our club can secure Jenkinson on a permanent basis.
There has been lots of talk over the last couple of weeks that the club are preparing a bid to sign Jenkinson on a long term deal this summer, and this of course was supported by David Sullivan’s ‘From the Boardroom’ blog last Saturday, in which David stated that signing a right back this summer is a top priority.
I for one would love to see Carl Jenkinson sign a long term deal at our club, and I don’t think there is one fan who would feel otherwise. Let’s hope it does happen, and we see Jenkinson play in the Claret & Blue for years to come.
COYI
Mark Carlaw
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United