Few people would have envisaged Carl Jenkinson as an England international when he first made his debut for the Gunners last year, yet his performances over the course of the past couple of months have resulted in him gaining recognition from the Three Lions ahead of the qualifying game against Poland this week. While he won’t be traveling to Warsaw for the game, Roy Hodgson has allowed the defender to train with the squad to gain valuable experience.
Jenkinson joined the club from Charlton for a fee thought to be in the region of £1m. It would be fair to say that he took a little while to adjust to the Emirates Stadium, which was quite understandable considering the huge step up from League One. However, after establishing him as the first choice right back this term after an injury to Bacary Sagna, Jenkinson has come on leaps and bounds and has gained praise from all quarters following many solid performances.
It now looks as though Hodgson has rewarded the 20-year-old for his efforts and has allowed him to train with the Three Lions. It is understood that the main reason for his inclusion is due to the fact that England have been training at the Emirates Stadium, although this should still not detract from Jenkinson’s achievement.
In fact, Hodgson was extremely complimentary of the player when asked about him at his recent press conference, saying, “After speaking to Arsene [Wenger] I am also conscious that his rise has been meteoric. He’s only 20 and it’s nice to temper things a little bit, but he wouldn’t be out of place in the squad. Kieran Gibbs, like Jenkinson, has started very well for Arsenal. On this occasion, we decided to go with [Gibbs] and keep Jenkinson up our sleeves but he’ll be very much in our thoughts when it comes to the next friendly match.”
