It looks as if Carl Jenkinson is a fitting example of how your dreams don’t always come true, with reports stating he will now join Crystal Palace on a permanent deal.
A monumental fan of the Gunners, the defender was gobsmacked when Arsene Wenger signed him from Charlton Athletic back in 2011, when he was just 19 years old.
However, despite all of the hype suggesting he could be Arsenal’s new hotshot right-back for the forseeable future, Jenkinson failed to hit the ground running.
During his first three years with the club he made just 38 appearances in all competitions, struggling to compete with the likes of Bacary Sagna and Mathieu Debuchy.
Back-to-back loan spells at West Ham were designed to get him to the level the Gunners required in order to challenge the brilliance Hector Bellerin was showing at the time.
This season hasn’t been much easier, and after recovering from a lengthy injury he’s now been shut out of the Arsenal squad entirely as an exit moves closer.
And it appears newly recruited Crystal Palace boss has his eye on Jenkinson to lay the foundations of his defensive rebuild as he looks to avoid relegation yet again.
It’s reported that The Eagles will pay in the region of £3million for the 24-year-old, who is desperate to get back out into regular playing time following a disastorous campaign with Arsenal.
The FA Cup tie vs. Preston was the final blow for Jenko, who found his place taken by the young legs of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who becomes the third player to be picked ahead of Jenko at right-back.
So Palace or West Ham, it looks as if they’ll compete for his signature but either way Jenkinson will be able to continue living in London and be around his Arsenal teammates.
I question the fans for the treatment he’s received when he does play, but the truth is he’s never gonna have the chance to get a run of games AND be good enough to be a regular.
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