CARL JENKINSON has refused to rule out a January transfer away from the Emirates.
The Arsenal defender made his first senior appearance for the club in 898 days on Tuesday as the Gunners beat Reading 2-0 at home in the EFL Cup fourth round.
Jenkinson, 23, spent the last two seasons on loan at West Ham picking up valuable first-team experience.
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When asked whether he might consider another spell out on loan in the next transfer window, he said: “I really don’t know.
“My focus is just on here at the moment. I’ve got my foot in the door, I’ve played tonight and hopefully I play in the next round and get some opportunities here.
“January is a long way away – well, it’s not too far, but long enough! I’ll just concentrate on what I’m doing now and focus on contributing when I get opportunities here.
“Hector [Bellerin] has been fantastic so far and he rightly deserves to be playing regularly. He’s been brilliant. It’s up to me – when I get chances – to play as well as I can.”
Jenkinson admitted he “loved” his his time at West Ham but always had Arsenal in the back of his mind.
He added: “Arsenal is my club. I went out on loan a couple years but I always thought I wanted to perform because I wanted to come back here, be good enough and I still want to be good enough to play here.
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“I guess I was trying to prove I can play at this level. I loved my time out on loan at West Ham, played a lot of football and it was fantastic for me.
“It was a great club and I enjoyed every minute I had there. But its great for me to be back here.
“Arsenal is my club and it’s an honour to wear the shirt.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain staked his claim to a place in Arsene Wenger‘s squad for Saturday’s trip to Sunderland by scoring both goals against Jaap Stam’s Reading.
And pal Jenkinson was delighted to see the 23-year-old midfielder showcase his talent.
He gushed: “Alex was fantastic – he’s different class. He’s been on fire the last few weeks. He’s kept plugging away because his playing time has been restricted at times.
“He’s really shown how good he was so I’m over the moon for him.
“He’s one of the best I’ve played with. I think he can go all the way. He’s been trying to take his chances when he gets them. He’s got five goals this season which is not a bad return considering the time of the year.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him because he’s been struggling for game time over the last couple of weeks and he’s taken his chance.”
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