WTTGT Writer: Ralph Hewitt
Arsène Wenger has begun his summer shake-up at the club with the signing of 19-year-old Carl Jenkinson, but who is he?
Jenkinson was born in Harlow and was a boyhood Arsenal fan. Last season he made nine first team appearances for Charlton Athletic.
Predominately a right-back, the 6′ 1″ defender can also play at the centre of defence when called upon.
He is Wenger’s first signing of the summer and is believed to have cost the club around £1m.
The young defender qualifies for both England and Finland through his mother and has already represented both nations at youth level. Last year he captained the under-19 Finland team.
“I hope the supporters will understand why I can’t turn down such an opportunity, but Charlton will always have a place in my heart,” said Jenkinson on Charlton’s website.
Jenkinson is a player who is capable of delivering accurate free-kicks and crosses, and he prefers to play the ball out from the back, rather than play a long pass up field. He’s the sort of player that should fit right into Arsenal’s style of play.
Charlton boss, Chris Powell had nothing but admiration for Jenkinson after sealing his move: “I want to put on record how much I admire Carl as a player and, more importantly, as a young man.
“If he grows into the right-back we all feel he could be, we could be talking about a player playing at the highest level for a very long time.”
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