Tom Martin
Whatever happens in the final next Saturday, I think I will struggle to find a more heart-warming moment than seeing Carl Jenkinson score yesterday and the sheer elation on his face when he celebrated. A meaningless, end-of-season game that follows Arsenal's routine annual capitulation, which we could have afforded to lose by 16 goals, was brightened up by a great goal and a scrappy one. Whilst it has been one of many great goals for Ramsey this season, I suppose I've almost start to expect brilliance for Arsenal's greatest (and only, so far as I know) Welshman since John Hartson.
When I first heard that we'd signed Jenkinson back in 2011, I was p*ssed off. Not because I objected to him personally; it was more because of Wenger’s and the board's utter incompetence when it comes to signing players people have heard of (and similar incompetence was on display last summer) until they had to resort to panic-buying at the last minute. Up until deadline day, it seemed that an unproven teenage right-back was our marquee signing for that summer (bar Gervinho and even that signing took ages because of our faffing about) and that didn't bode well for the season, especially after the Old Trafford mauling. Actually, I'm trying not to think of that summer (or last summer for that matter) as the upper management's sheer laziness/ineptitude when it comes to signing players people have heard of still makes my blood boil, albeit not as much as whenever I remember Mikael Silvestre in an Arsenal shirt.
And whilst it was great that Jenkinson was a life-long Gooner, the other fans who ended up playing for us in my lifetime include Ashley Cole (great player but we all know what happened later) and the mighty Eddie McGoldrick (a local boy who was just a bit rubbish) so I wasn't sure how it would pan out, and I wasn't overly optimistic either. This was somewhat emphasised by what happened at Old Trafford when Jenkinson got sent off and I thought afterwards that he'd most likely be dropped to the reserves and quietly shipped out the following summer or at least sent to somewhere like Doncaster on a season-long loan. He seemed completely out of his depth although I didn't think he should have played at OT in the first place. Cashley made his debut in a relatively low-key League Cup tie away to Middlesborough and spent his early time relatively hidden from the limelight compared to Jenkinson. Obviously none of this was Jenkinson's fault, but after that game, rather than letting it shatter his confidence, he worked very hard and his performances and all-round game showed gradual signs of improvement (almost in the spirit of the 'Montage' song from Team America).
By the end of the season, the Old Trafford performance was forgotten and I could see to an extent what Wenger saw in him. And ever since, his determination, enthusiasm and performances have rightly made him a cult favourite. It's obvious whenever he plays how much it means to him to play for Arsenal and fans know he'd do anything for the team. In an era when money dominates and players become even more mercenary, it was nice to see someone like Jenkinson having his moment in the sun yesterday.
A scuffed shot from a deflected cross in a game of little consequence wouldn't have meant as much if it came from anyone else but our Carl because, if any of us miraculously got a chance to play for Arsenal and score, then that's probably the kind of goal we'd score. Players of a more mercenary nature may move clubs, get bigger pay-packets, score better goals and win a few trophies, but none of that will mean as much to them as Jenkinson's goal yesterday meant to him as a fan. Seeing him score that goal took me back to my younger days and dreaming of scoring for Arsenal (as I'm 29, that ship's probably sailed, although I've probably got more of a chance of playing professionally than David Bentley) and how awesome that would be. It was great to see a life-long fan fulfil a dream that we all had as children but never got to live out, especially in an age of money and foreign imports making it harder for people such as Jenks to live the dream.
In the three years he has been here, he has earned that moment. For all the fans that slated him, for all those in the media who liked to belittle him, yesterday was his way of saying 'Screw you haters, I've just lived out a dream which you'll never do'. And football needs these moments more and more. Forget the likes of Stevie G trying to whitewash his childhood as an Everton fan by claiming he's a lifelong Liverpool fan in the same way United fans of my generation claim to have supported United before they started winning anything (I never believe any of them unless they can prove it, which some have but definitely not all); Jenks is the real deal. When he scored, it was possibly the nicest way to end a season without winning anything. If you call yourself an Arsenal fan but couldn't appreciate that scruffy goal, then I feel sorry for you. You probably have about as much joy in your heart as Gillian McKeith (that poo-prodding food-fascist who isn't a real doctor) and Katie Hopkins combined, and you should just give up and train to work as a customs officer, such is the miserable emptiness of your existence.
And before anyone starts, I am more than aware of his limitations and that some fans don't hold him in such high regard. I know he's not as good as Sagna and is most likely not ready to replace him just yet, and I know that he made that error against Chelsea earlier in the season, but condemning every 21-year-old who makes a mistake does not help anyone. I know his limitations and if anything they make him more endearing in the same way that Ray Parlour was a fan favourite in spite of not being as good as some of his team-mates. For all the great players we've had over the years, we still need players like Parlour and Jenkinson - reliable squad players who'd run through brick walls for the team. This is why people like Gilles Grimandi and Phil Neville still have more Premier League medals than Steven Gerrard. And this is why Jenks could be a cult hero for a few more years to come.
