By Steve Knightley
Have we walked in to a Jenkinson trap?
It’s been known for a player to extend their loan at a football club. Usually by a month or so.
What isn’t particularly common is for a player to be on loan for a year, sign a new deal with their parent club, and then return on loan to the club at which they spent the previous year.
Speaking of his loan spell at West Ham, Carl told the Fans Forum, “I decided at the end of last year that I wanted to come here. Obviously Arsenal are a club I’m contracted to, they hold all the aces really, if those choose to sell me or want me on loan it’s completely out of my hands”.
“But the one thing I told my agent is that I wanted to come back to West Ham. I loved every minute last year, I played a lot of football and I really enjoy my football here. I really wanted to come back and that was clear from the offset”.
Interesting then, after those words, that before Carl came back he signed another five year deal with Arsenal..
Now let me make this point quite clear. I absolutely 100% believe Carl, I really do. I was sat four ft from him and not only was he completely genuine with his response but he also replied with a smile on his face and sat proud in his freshly pressed training kit. My suspicions for any trap-setting lay in the North side of London.
To me it makes no sense to have a player on loan at a club to ‘enhance their development’ and yet consider that player developed enough to offer him a FIVE YEAR deal. Five years is certainly one of the longer contract periods. Not the longest, but it’s up there.
My personal view is that Arsenal have seen us coming here and forced both arms up our back. There is no doubt that Carl is a key player for us.
Bilic is rebuilding this team and Carl is at the foundation. Sure, Carl was not for sale over the summer, but give another sterling performance with us this season and a five year contract effectively locking Carl in to Arsenal, I bet a pretty hefty price tag will be attached to him.
The question is, what do we do? Take the bait and wear the pen out writing zeros and commas on the cheque to Arsenal, or start looking for a replacement after Christmas?
Only time will tell I suppose. Place your bets!
The views expressed here are those solely of the blogger and are not necessarily shared by ClaretandHugh
we are right now looking for a right back. I suppose it’s to provide competition and perhaps to replace Jenks at the end of the season.
Now that Leo Chambers is back in the under 21s, I hope he will prove himself to be our RB next season.
You are having a laugh – Jenks is critical to the foundation of this team that Slaven is building He wont be in the West Ham side once Slaven really sees what he is like. What a waste of money – the worse bit of business over the summer. At least we did not buy him. I will have a bet with you now that after this season Bilic will no longer be interested in him. If he is part of our foundation then the walls are very dodgy lol…
I think you have nailed Jenkinson John.If he goes back to the Gooners I wonder how much game time he will get?Time will tell.
Tomkins did better against Arsenal than Jenks did against Leicester – Problem solved
Also, Tomkins proved he has game in that position and, given the centre back positions are competitive for us (at last), perhaps he might make a play for that? I think Arsenal have done what any club would do with one of their prized assets, so I don’t blame them for what they’ve done, and I don’t blame Carl for signing the extended contract. I’m not sure Bilic will see him as part of the foundation, knowing that we only have him for a year, but if he proves worth the money come the end of the season, then write those zeroes and commas – you get what you pay for (most of the time!)
I think myself Jenks will do well for us again this season. I’m only concerned that he wont be doing it for us next season.
I agree Hugh and I think its very obvious what Arsenal was up to. However like the other comments here, I’m not sure he is vital to the future. Very good right backs are available and it’s not the most expensively priced position. In the end we may end up giving him back and leave Arsenal with egg on their face, having signed a player they don’t need until 2020. This move may end up coming back to haunt them.
We have been liked with 4 really good full backs in fact Southampton are just going to sign one of them but did not buy any,
Tomkins and Burke have impressed at right back and I still think we missed a trick on Saturday by not sticking with a Winning side,if Tomkins had another good game on Saturday we could have resolved 2 problems and Jenks would have been the one with the problem,
Wow,funny,last season everyone was delighted with Jenks in our team (apart from Johnham,but he rates no one,lol)Now he shouldnt even be in the team.I for one am more than happy with him in the team.He is behind the rest with respect to fitness & will be fine once he is up to speed.Strange what one summer & a contract extension can do now.Now he is going to be peoples fall guy!.If people want to play a season with a fullback with no attacking intent put in Tomkins,but dont complain when we have no one attacking down that side of the pitch from a fullback position.
Slim – Tonks had 3 assists and a goal last year & 2 goals in preseason this year, for all his running Jenks only had 2 assists last year, he needs to learn to cross or at least look where he’s kicking it, Tonks is a better defender & more of a goal threat so i know who i would prefer in my team
Arsenal are ripping off West Ham over Carl Jenkinson. They have no intention of playing Carl in the starting XI ….. and whilst he plays well and gains Premier League experience in the Hammers’ side, his stock value goes up. If West Ham or anyone else buys Jenkinson in a years’ time he’ll be worth much more than he does now.
I really hope so because that will mean he has played well for us 🙂 If he is invaluable providing assists and goals without being responsible for us conceding then all well and good, but i doubt it.
He might have onky had two assists but many of the ballsinto the box last season came from Cresswell & Jenks.Arsenal will only be ripping us off if they ask for an extortionate fee at the end of the season.For now he is only on loan & i am personally glad he is back.Just because he wasnt at his best on saturday everyone is jumping on the Tomkins bandwagon.Last season there was no call for him to be rightback.Nothing for me has changed this season.When Jenks fitness is up to where it should be he will be fine.
No one is using him as a full guy,like John I have said all through the transfer window we need another right back also I said I do not believe in changing a winning side,
My problem has always been that we had no right back cover and had hope Burke could fill that part ,never even thought about Tomkins,but after the Arsenal game could see a chance without going into the market,
On the 2 games so far Tomkins deserves to play and backs first job are to stop goals,we need to get more from our attacking players to release the full backs when we are on top,
Yeah exactly,release the fullbacks to bring them in to attacking positions.Well you can forget that with Tomkins.He aint ever going to bomb down the wing & get the cross in is he,lol 😉
You are only as good as your next game. We’ve all seen enough of one season wonders to know that. What Jenkinson did last year is irrelevant now. He has to be judged on what he’s going to do this year.
As far as Saturday’s game was concerned, there was nothing in it to suggest, starting Tommo would have been a bad decision. After all, he was more match fit than Jenkinson, so, logic suggests he should have, at least started the game
Jenks MUST improve over last year to be worth the loan money let alone a transfer fee next summer. Belting it into the box for the CB’s to head it back out again, catching him out of position is not the way forward.
Ffs,now Jenks is a possible one season wonder.I give up.I have no preference to either Jenks or Tomkins but im starting to hope Jenks has an absolute blinder this season just to stuff it up some peoples jacksies.
This is a joke.Many people at the end of last season were gagging for Jenks to comeback.Now because he has signed a new contract you have all decieded he aint no good.I can see it is going to be a long season for him as an ‘Arsenal Loanee’ at our club.Strange people on forums,most people i know in the real world who support us were delighted to see him back,even if only on loan.Guess this is what forums are for,all the whinging b∆stards.
No one is whinging we are talking about weather Tomkins should have been dropped or not
Weather we need another right back ?
Should we have paid to loan or not ?
That’s what forums are for at the end of the day Slav picks and signs who he wants and I for one believe in his decision but if we are not going to talk what is the point of forums,
Every person has a view and this allows them to make them,
If you have a view state it with the reasons and join the discussion but just to say everyone is stupid because they have a different view is negative
Jenkinson had a very good season for us last year. Everyone I know wanted him back.
Neither Jenkinson nor Cressell played well against Leicester. We need to put that game behind us and move on.
If Jenkinson has another good season (which we all hope he will) then a decision will be made about signing him from the Arse with four years left on a contract. If we don’t sign him because of the price, then somebody else will. The Gooners have done sensible business.
I’m genuinely not worried about it. There are plenty of decent right backs out there as well as those we’re bringing through.
You never know, we might have the lad on loan for the next five years!