A big question for Arsene Wenger to mull over the summer is who will be playing in the right back position for Arsenal next season. Bacary Sagna has played there this season but its looking more and more likely that with his contract coming to an end in the next couple of weeks, that he will be forced to find himself a new club. I think many of us fans had held hope that Bacary may yet still sign a new deal but after yesterdays win over West Brom at The Emirates, he led the lap of appreciation around the pitch and looked quite emotional whilst doing so which seems to end all hopes of a new contract being signed.
The fact that Bacary has been one of our standout performers this season makes it all that much worse. So who will step into Bacarys shoes and fill that right back slot next season? Next in line is Carl Jenkinson, who has made 20 appearances in all competitions this season. Is Carl ready to play a full season at right back, and more importantly, is he good enough? My personal opinion would be he is not good enough, yet. He has shown signs early on in his Arsenal career of a player with work ethic, enthusiasm and a real love for the club, having supported Arsenal all of his life but even with these traits, I feel he is not quite ready for the step up. At times this season when he has played he just doesn’t seem comfortable and has looked awkward and as if he has been thrown right into the deep end. At 22 years of age, he would probably feel himself that now is the time to make that next step and become a full time starter instead of the bit-part player he found himself when Sagna was occupying the right back slot. Over the course of the season, with Bacary and the club seemingly not being able to agree on a new deal, right backs all over Europe have been linked with a move to North London. Players like Seamus Coleman, Serge Aurier and Micah Richards have all been touted as possible movers, but if a deal for one of those does happen, what then for Carl Jenkinson! Having seen Hector Bellerin, a Barcelona youth player who moved to Arsenal in 2011, play a number of times this season for Arsenal youths, under 21s and also for Watford where he made 8 appearances during a loan move earlier this season, feel he is a future star. Similarly to Coleman and Dani Alves, he finds attack is the best form of defense and you’ll regularly see him making them bursts down the right flank. Even now, if one of Coleman, Aurier or Richards made the move, I would promote Hector to our back up right back ahead of Carl and send Carl out on loan to a Premier League club so as to get himself a run of games and to see if he has it in him to return to Arsenal after wards and stake a claim for the right back position.
I’m sure that a number of top flight teams would be interested in bringing Carl in on loan, and would recognise that it would be the best move for his career instead of sitting on the bench all season waiting for your chance to come along. At 22, may also realise that with a run of games under his belt, may be rewarded with a call up to the England squad to represent them during their qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 and come back and challenge for your boyhood team at Arsenal! So what do you think is the best move for Carl? Would you send him out on loan? Let us know in the comment section below
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By Wayne Quinn (Twitter – @wazzaquinn) | Photo via Kieran Clarke[