After months of speculation and rumour, Carl Jenkinson’s transfer to Arsenal was finally confirmed this afternoon. The 19-year-old moves to North London for a compensation fee of around £1 million.
To get the low down on Jenkinson, I caught up with Charlton fan and youth team expert Scott, who tweets about the Addicks youngsters over at CAFCYouth. He began by giving an introduction to Carl.
“Carl has been with Charlton since Under 9 level. He made his Under 18 debut in 2007, as an Under 16. He played regularly for the Under 18’s from 2008 to 2010, and also made international appearances for both England and Finland at youth level. He also captained Charlton Under 18’s in their three FA Youth Cup matches at The Valley last season and Finland Under 18’s in an 8 team tournament last season.”
“He’s also made several appearances in Reserve friendlies during the last season and played in first-team friendlies last pre-season.”
Many have written about Jenkinson, but few have actually agreed on his best position. Scott set the record straight on that.
“He is comfortable at both right back, as he’s right footed, and centre back. He can occasionally play at left back, but he’s better in the other two positions. He has also had the odd game in central midfield. At the moment I see him as a right back, as he probably isn’t quite strong enough or dominant in the air to play centre back at present.”
And overall? What is Jenkinson’s best qualities? Scott gave his view.
“He’s a good all round player, comfortable on the ball, looks to run with it, intelligent, tall, hard working and versatile. That’s not to say he’s proven even at League One level yet, he’s not even started 10 games for us. I’m sure if he keeps working at his game he’ll improve in all areas, get stronger, read the game better, make better decisions. He also takes a good set piece.”
Jenkinson has without doubt upset a number of Charlton fans, after turning down a new contract to join Arsenal. However, Scott believes this decision was totally understandable.
“I can’t blame him from moving on. We only gave him a 1 year deal, he and his family support Arsenal, and the opportunity to train with Premier League players, coaches and have Wenger as manager is too good to turn down.”
For the final word on Jenkinson, Scott gave me his initial opinion on how he thinks the young defender will do at Arsenal.
“He’s a gamble, he’s not not as proven as Jonjo Shelvey was at first team level, but one worth you taking I think. With better players around him, who are more comfortable on the ball, you will see him pass the on the floor and show his real quality.”
You can follow Scott on Twitter, over @CAFCYouth.
I think he’d be more of a reserves player than a first teamer or maybe he’d even be loaned out.
I hope he will not slow down Angha progression and be an obstacle for him. Angha needs to be a regular at the reserve level next season. He’s a huge prospect and for me, a long term replacement for Sagna… What do you think about it Jamie?
I think this will see Eboue sold within the next three transfer windows (Now, Jan and next summer).
If he’s as versatile as Eboue, as this report suggests, then it will happen. After all, in 2 years he won’t be worth anything.
Still trying to figure out why we bought him.
Name an up and coming right back at Arsenal, then maybe you will realise
Martin Angha, though competition will be good for both players.
Also, the fact that he’s native born, makes him more, and I stress, more likely to stay, maybe for his whole career. Add to that the fact that his mother is Finnish, and their not *usually* exactly moneygrabbing Anelka/Adebayor type of players. Think Hyypia, Jaaskelainen etc. Add to that the way he treated Charlton in making sure they got proper compensation, and his family being gooners, he could well become a loyal player for us.
I am really looking foward to this signing!
I am guessing he will be in the squad for pre season!
He may have his chance early with gibbs injured he might actually be promoted as he can play as aleft back as well!
Jenkinson seems to have a great attitude judging by the statements put on Charlton dot com.
he looks like hes got all the tools just needs polishing!
Defenders being good on the ball are a rare thing!
Hopefully hes good enough for arsenal!
Looks like Phil Jones has turned us down (as well as L’Pool) for Man Utd. Let’s hope Jamie was right about him!
Jenkinson looks a decent player and one for the future. Remember this deal seems to have been in place for a while….I guess and hope the real business is yet to come!
Oh and perhaps this has shown that Wenger is willing to splash to cash :D
My thought was, £16m for Jones? why not £17m for Cahill or £15m for Sakho.
Agree Villa! Although I do hope we try and go for the ‘finished article’ given that CB has been a problem position for us!
Sakho is a good shout though, I haven’t seen enough of him to make a brilliant judgement yet the consensus seems to be he is a great player.
What’s peoples views on Cahill – overrated or not?
Don’t be surprised if Sakho comes into the equation pretty soon. By the end of this week he will have clocked up three games for France and the boss has been providing commentary/analysis on French TV. Slightly nervous last friday for his first international start, esp. in the first half (vs. Belarus), but settled in and excellent on Monday against Ukraine. One more match against Poland tomorrow.
Sakho would present much more value for money than Phil Jones (and Cahill), IMHO. Pretty close with Samba (~10m), but Sakho has pace.
Jake>
Leaving aside the small matter that Jenks is nowhere near ready to replace Eboue, I think you’re reading things wrong. Unless Eboue starts to seriously lose it physically at a very young age (30-ish) then he’ll be at Arsenal until he retires, or at least for another four or five years.
As a squad player, it’s slightly less important if his long-term stamina drops, because he’s not playing every match. He’s not worth that much anyway – or rather, we’re unlikely to see a transfer fee anywhere close to his value – and he’s immensely popular in the squad.
Sure, if we got a really good offer, and/or Eboue wanted to leave to be first choice somewhere, then things might change, but I think in fact he’s very happy at Arsenal and we’re lucky to have him.
I didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be worth anything as a player, but in terms of actual money. a 30 year old right back prone to mistakes, who dives a lot and occasionally is very very good. At least we could get a decent price for him at the moment.
Thank you mate. Tired of people seeing football as FM. It is not all just about things on the field.
Bartley is every bit as good as Phil Jones & Chris Smalling just wait and see. Hopefully he will overtake Squillaci, Djourou and Koscielny and become 3rd choice ch behind Vermaelen and our new CH??? Djourou to revert back to DM? Squillaci to revert back to Sevilla with Almunia, Denilson and Bendtner.
it is the worst day of this transfer season as phil jones signed for manchester.i thought he would come to arsenal but maybe wenger didnt force the transfer because maybe he thought against signing another youngster who is relatively inexperienced.he would also have cost a large amount of our budget.but to me this was a missed opportunity.we still dont know how frimpong and coqlin or even bartley would fare.but this guy would be a superstar.i m sure about that.god i m so pissed today
Well at least Wenger tried to sign Phil Jones.
He phoned him up yesterday!
Seems Jones prefers Manchester cause hes a Local boy. Close to family etc He still lives with his family. Must be the reason plus Man utd are a massive club.
Oh well i just hope now Kyle bartley signs a new contract and wenger buys samba so we can rotate koscielny, samba, vermaelen, djourou and blood Kyle bartley in slowly!
I think Cahill might be a better option than Samba because of the ‘home grown’rule. If we sell Fabregas, Clichy, Bendtner and Denilson and register Walcott and Gibbs we will still need 2/3 more home grown players unless we add the under 21’s.
i reckon phil jones would have gone straight into our team for that money… at united he’s got ferdinand and vidic and even smalling. well it’s not for me to judge if it’s the wrong decision but i was surprised tbh… interesting that wenger was willing to spend that cash on jones but is reluctant with cahill.
i think jones would play in midfield for man utd .thats going to be his permanent position in future.he is so good on the ball and would be a perfect anchorman for back 4.he can play as cb .that is a plus.and i think wenger rated him because he is actually better than cahill.cahill is good but not that good as he seems in bolton.if he comes to arsenal he too would have problems with the style we defend.
I think he has been bought as he is
(1)(duel)British passport
(2) Not counted within the 25 man squad
(3) Potentially cover for Bac meaning selling Eboue will free up another place in the 25
The effects of the 25 man squad are really going to be apparent over the next few seasons
Also, Bac hasn’t been that injury prone so I can foresee Wenger gambling and selling Eboue.
Goomba
Phil Jones has chosen Man utd
You cant blame arsenal or Arsene wenger he even phoned him!
Phil jones is from blacckbrun Manchester isnt far.
Seems a good fit!
We just have to move on
john mate i wasn’t blaming wenger i was just a bit surprised he chose united becuase he’ll have so much competition there. but that’s life so move on. smalling and jones chose united, ramsey chose arsenal so that’s how it goes.
It might b a good fit for him, but to me it seems the easy route.
He would have played more at arsenal or liverpool, and developed at a quicker pace.
At either other club he would developed into the leader at the back. He seems scared to move away from home.
Dont blame him, he would love to sit on the bench all season and win a champions league.
He has to sit behind, Rio, Vidic, Smalling, and he is competing with evans.
Wrong move MR JONES.
The 25 player squad does mean AW needs to look hard at the age of his squad. Currently, with no new players coming in, Arsenal still needs to offload at least 2 players +21 years old during the summer. I guess Almunia, Bendtner and Denilson are 3 players likely to move on but that only allows for 1 player +21 coming in. Buying Carl gives us an alternative to Sagna. Add to that Hoyte probably hasn’t developed into the quality we were hoping for, buying a player such as Carl seems like a logical move. We also have players such as Djourou who can play RB, Hajrovic and Angha.
I’m quite happy about this transfer, i think we were in need of having other options for backup in the right back position other than Eboue. Could be a decent player in time and being 6ft plus is a bonus also.
Will he officially be in the first team next season, like Frimpong, Eastmond, Emmanuel-Thomas and Lansbury are?
Good news i can wait to see him in an arsenal shirt with the first team.
Don’t think he’s gonna be anywhere near the first team next season.
On Jones, he’s 5″11… not what we need at all. Bartley is an excellent prospect imo. I think Jamie summed it up perfectly: “£15m for Jones or £20m for Cahill, no brainer”. Cahill would be prefect for us.
“he and his family support Arsenal” That’s the most important attribute when we look for a player!!!! Do you think he has the quality to fight for a 1st team spot right away?
The most important attribute to look for in a player? I am obsessed with Arsenal so does that mean they should sign me? lol. Talent is the most important part.
@Shane
A bit late, but do you prefer to have players who are not the best in the world but are bleeding Red and White, and willing go give it all in every match (ala Keown, Parlor), or players who are talented, but seek to get a raise and / or jump ship at the first chance (ala Nasri, Hleb)?
Looks like a good signing!
On the topic of him and his family being gooners: who are other known players like that whom we could sign? (I’m talking british ones obviously…)
Another Nordtveit?
I think Koscielny could be play RB as well to make way for Bartley 2 be part of the squad if eboue goes.
I am willing to bet anyone that Vermaelen and Koscielny will become the best centerback pairing in the world. Koscielny has amazing potential. People forget this was his first year in this league. Vidic had average moments when he got here.
Koscielny and vermaelen have the best composure and are both very calm on the ball!
I think in open play those 2 will be awesome.
its just a question of set pieces!
If we play vermaelen, koscielny!
We need other taller players like diaby, van persie, chamakh, bendtner playing to help compensate for thier lack of height!
Vermaelen is one of the best players in the air and besides height does not guarantee success in the air. Ask Diaby and Djurou that.
That’s the difference between finishing 4th and 1st. Man u sign jones (premier league experience) arsenal sign jenkinson (no experience). Our club has become a joke. I for one, have had enough. Wenger out.
I think a back four of;
Sagna – Cahill – TV5 – Sakho
would be a title winning back four; Height, power, pace and they can all pass the ball.
I personally feel that Cahill is overrated and will have an inflated price because hes English, but hes the only centre back that has been mentioned that id like to have at Arsenal, mind you Sakho could play there but then we must buy a new left back.
Whats all this talk about offloading Eboue, just keep him for now, he’s a good bench player, i know we need to sell many players but theres no point going gung ho and selling every player.
And besides, hes a good player to have in the dressing room for morale, always joking and playing pranks.
Been watching all these big
money signings go by and it got me thinking,how much rooms there in our squad and are we waiting to sell before we buy?Well I’ve worked out we currently have 25 players that need to be registered next season or they need to leave so we must sell before anyone comes in.These are the current 25 – fabianski,mannone,almunia,sagna,clichy,eboue,Gibbs,vermaelen, djourou,koscielny,squillaci,traore,botelho,song,fabregas,nasri,Walcott,denilson,diaby,arshavin,rosicky,van persie,chamakh,bendtner,vela. The homegrowns are no issue as there’s 12 in that list and by the sound of it bendtner and denilson are off for sure so expect 2 signings.Other possibilities are either almunia or mannone going,either clichy or traore,possibly rosicky if he forces the issue,hopefully but very unlikely squillaci,then finally the question marks on nasri and fabregas futures,all these players futures hinge on our expectations for the transfer window. To add to all that we have 8 players that will be in need of registering for the following season or leaving,goalkeepers szczesny and Martinez who are both the future which would probably leave fabianski or mannone leaving at this point,gavin hoyte who will either replace eboue as back up right back or leave,Ramsey,Lansbury and eastmond with possibly the latter leaving and Rambo and Henri squeezing in somehow,Rhys murphy who I think will leave and finally JET who will replace one of chamakh/vela/arshavin/rosicky. There’s alot of other young players who have 2-3 years at least before registrations need to be considered miquel,bartley,jenkinson,wilshere,Henderson,coquelin,frimpong,ozyakup,sunu,watt,Wellington,miyachi,galindo etc and that’s when it’ll be a situation where the cream must rise to the top but till then we should have no need for worrying about what English £20million rated players are left because as far as homegrowns concerned we don’t need no more,so get out there and buy 2-3 superstars,splash the cash because we’ll make it all back within 4 years with our surplus staff. Hopefully this is useful information for everyone otherwise I apologise for the mass space used!
The fact it says he’s not ‘dominant in the air’ is slightly concerning but hopefully he can have a good career and push for a 1st team place
i cant believe it ….how can we let the main players contract run out…and i dont think so we can question nasri….he has played well….and wants to move maybe..but why are we splashing 12 million on a talent that has not even played in the PL….we should have put some more and brought hazard…can someone tell me what is happening with this kid chamberlain’s transfer…i seriously think we have a lot of youngstera similar to him..cant wenger concentrate on our achilles heel..defence..
l he could be one to look out for along with a pool of young talent to make an impact next season. Could see him linking up with ignasi miguel in defence. ALSO just heard the news about oxolade-chamberlain could see him and ryo miyachi bombing foward next season :)
So reassuring to have an arsenal supporter play for the club, he has been reading Tony Adams bio, i have already, and he will learn alot from that book, and i hope he’ll bring similar qualities to arsenal.
Great signing