Celebrating Carl Jenkinson, Arsenal’s last man standing from Arsene Wenger’s British core

Jenkinson made his first Premier League start in 830 days in the 5-1 win over Bournemouth and was heartily supported by an often fickle Emirates crowd

Two rather unusual things happened in the space of just one hour and five minutes at the Emirates Stadium last night.

The first was the announcement of Arsenal’s starting XI, which revealed that Carl Jenkinson had been awoken from his cryogenic chamber just in time to deputise for Héctor Bellerín against Bournemouth. And, before long, the Arsenal supporters shuffling to their seats were swapping stats like Opta employees at the office Christmas party. His first Premier League start in 830 days! His first at the Emirates since December 2013! His 68th appearance in the last eight years!

The second was closely related to the first. Because, at exactly three minutes into Arsenal’s 5-1 win, Jenkinson successfully pulled off a no-look pass. Jenkinson, making his first Premier League appearance since the Dark Ages, was in absolutely no mood to hang around before bringing out the party tricks: this was an occasion to celebrate. The crowd cheered, Sokratis collected the ball, and seconds later Mesut Özi had opened the scoring.

Okay — so perhaps we shouldn’t get too carried away. Jenkinson was stood in his own half, for starters. The ball travelled backwards. And the nearest Bournemouth player, Adam Smith, was not even remotely close to him. Keep the PFA Player of the Year champagne on ice. Best not post that Ballon d’Or invitation just yet. But in so many ways, that early moment of entirely superfluous skill epitomised Jenkinson’s adept and endlessly enthusiastic performance.

The home supporters were loving every minute. Which may be surprising to the uninitiated. The Emirates is a famously fickle den of contradictions, where Hale End graduate Alex Iwobi is regularly jeered, the departing Aaron Ramsey staunchly cheered, and has-beens such as Olivier Giroud and Alexander Hleb received like returning kings. And let us not forget that Arsenal play Spurs next — a match Jenkinson has about as much chance of starting as Gunnersaurus.

So what is behind such support for Jenkinson, a 27-year-old who has failed to ever truly make the grade, who was told he could leave the club in the summer after being left out of Arsenal’s pre-season tour to Singapore, and was also available on the cheap last month?

Partly it is because of what he represents to the club’s supporters, who still talk wistfully of the club’s famous ‘British core’. The year was 2012, and a beaming Arsène Wenger stood behind five homegrown players signing new contracts that he hoped could lead the club into a new era of success. Jenkinson, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Of the five, Jenkinson is the last to survive. And who would have predicted that?

This matters more at Arsenal than it might at other clubs. Ever since Wenger’s arrival in 1996 Arsenal have been a famously cosmopolitan club, the first to regularly field a team without a single English player. That fuelled their success, and yet there is a feeling it fostered something of a disconnection between players and supporters, something further exacerbated by the move from Highbury to the Emirates.

And then there is Jenkinson’s personality: his commitment, his love for all things Arsenal. A lifelong supporter who used to travel to Highbury as a small boy with his brother and father, Jenkinson so clearly adores the club. A true fan. He is also an exceptionally popular figure with backroom staff, who often make it known how much they appreciate all his efforts with the club’s many community projects.

A case in point: last weekend’s 2-0 win over Southampton. Perhaps Jenkinson would have hoped to be in contention, given Bellerín’s long-term injury and the sickness bug that laid Ainsley Maitland-Niles low. Instead Stephan Lichtsteiner was given the nod, with Jenkinson failing to even make the bench. Many a player would have sat and sulked — and not without good reason. Not Jenkinson, who travelled to the match before leading a group of fans onto the pitch at half-time to commemorate World Down’s Syndrome Day.

Arsenal's 'British core' (Arsenal FC via Getty)

Perhaps the answer to his popularity is a combination of both of these reasons, as well as something slightly more abstract. In an age of ever more distant professional footballers, Jenkinson is still so relatable, a player who delights in wearing his heart on his sleeve, who effortlessly connects with the club’s supporters. And while we must be careful not to be completely patronising when assessing his value — he is a one-time England international after all, and hardly put a foot wrong last night — his popularity goes far beyond his performance.

When Arsenal eased to an absolutely routine 3-0 win over Blackpool in the FA Cup earlier this season, Jenkinson celebrated at full-time with all the gusto of a man who had just scored the winning goal in a World Cup final. Against Germany. From the halfway line. The travelling supporters loved it. It is a huge part of why he was so cheered so ardently yesterday evening. And that is why his time at Arsenal will always be remembered warmly, regardless of all those eyebrow raising statistics.