Arsenal: Say it with me – Good thing we have Carl Jenkinson

Arsenal were bitten by the injury bug yet again at fullback, and as the ranks thin, it actually is a good thing that the club held onto Carl Jenkinson.

Arsenal were already stretched thin at fullback when they took to the pitch against Sporting CP, where a win would secure their place atop their Europa League group.

Without Monreal, and with Hector Bellerin getting a needed rest after his own injury, Unai Emery went with Stephan Lichtsteiner on the right and Carl Jenkinson, the ever-present Gooner, on the left. Jenko doesn’t want to give up on his hopes of making it at the Emirates, and it’s looking like a good thing after all.

The natural rightback only got an hour on the pitch, but in that hour, he was far from a liability. He was actually pretty… good. Maybe above-average. Or maybe just average. But in the end, what’s the difference?

The point is, in the wake of fullback despair, we have a decent fullback to turn to in Jenko, whose career derailed because of injuries, and who is remarkably still only 26-years-old, despite being at the club for 62 years.

To compile on matters, a mere quarter of an hour after Jenko was subbed off (to roaring applause), Lichtsteiner blew a tire chasing down the ball. The 34-year-old was immediately subbed off due to a clear hamstring injury.

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While I don’t know the extent of the injury as of writing, a 34-year-old hamstring injury is bound to take some time. Thankfully, we are on international break coming up, but that doesn’t guarantee he will be back.

In the meantime, Nacho Monreal is still out, and his contract is soon to expire at the end of the year anyway.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles is just now returning to health, but for the love of Wenger, can we please just get him into the central midfield? That’s where the lad belongs, so let’s just get it over with and do it.

Which means that Bellerin and Kolasinac are, as it stands, the only two healthy fullbacks.

Oh, and Carl Jenkinson.

Somehow, someway, a place has opened up where Carl Jenkinson may actually fit. With the injuries and the expiring contracts, Jenko could very well find himself in a position to prove his place on the team.

I, for one, would be thrilled to see Jenko work his way back into the mix. Unai Emery doesn’t pick favorites based on anything but viability on the pitch. That’s your cue, Jenko.