The right back has been on good form whilst deputising for the injured Bacary Sagna, and in the absence of several England regulars, he should be selected for the World Cup Qualifiers coming up.
There has been much said about Arsenal’s excellent defensive record at the start of this season. Considering they were without Sagna and Koscielny, who were arguably their two best defenders last season, for the first few games it is particularly impressive how composed they have looked, especially in the away trips to Manchester City and Liverpool.
Carl Jenkinson has been a major part of this, and there is now rumours that the former Charlton man may get a call up to the England squad for the upcoming matches at home to San Marino and away to Poland.
Right back is a position where England do have a lot of good players. Glen Johnson is still the man in possession of the first team place for England, but is suspended for England’s next match against San Marino. There is also Kyle Walker and Micah Richards to consider.
The latter has been injured at the start of the season, and may have trouble getting back into City’s team, with Maicon and Zabaleta also competing for places. It is probably the City man that Jenkinson will replace in the squad, with Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Martin Kelly also injured at the moment. Kyle Walker will be expected to start the match in place of Johnson, but Jenkinson could come off the bench to win a first cap in what can be regarded the easiest of circumstances – a home match against the usually hapless San Marino.
An England call would complete the turnaround in Jenkinson’s recent fortunes. Last season he looked out of his depth in the early fixtures, being sent off in the infamous 8-2 loss at Old Trafford, and an injury stopped him from establishing himself in the second half of the season.
Though Sagna, regarded by many as the best right back in the Premiership, will likely retake his place in the team when fit, Jenkinson has already shown this season that he is a quality back up to have in the squad.
He should get plenty of first team opportunities this season for Arsenal, and it will be interesting to see if he continues his impressive progress. If Hodgson is looking at picking players based on form, there is no doubt that Jenkinson should be called up for these matches.
images: © wonker, © Ronnie Macdonald, © Ronnie Macdonald
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