There are many expectations of the modern full-back. Despite the full-back being positioned in the defensive line, a large amount of their responsibilities involve being competent at the offensive side of the game. Players like Dani Alves and Marcelo tend to shun some of their defensive responsibilities in order to act as a another attacker when their team is in possession and in the ascendency.
The more traditional full-back focuses more on their defensive work. Shutting down the opposition’s lightning winger; slotting in as a third centre-back during times of extended pressure.
While Bacary Sagna has been a great servant for Arsenal Football Club – combining both of the aforementioned full-back traits to become one of the world’s best – he will not be around forever. At the age of 30, his body will begin to slow down and Arsenal will have to actively start planning for life without one of their best ever right-backs.
Luckily enough, there are two young prospects waiting in the wings. Up first, Carl Jenkinson. Mr. Arsenal. Signed from Charlton Athletic for a fee of £1m, Jenkinson started out his Arsenal career very shakily: his fitness wasn’t there; he couldn’t cross the ball to an acceptable standard and you just got the feeling that he was slightly overawed with being at Arsenal Football Club. It’s understandable. Never considered an elite prospect growing up, Jenkinson’s transfer to Arsenal came as a huge shock. He hadn’t even featured 20 times for Charlton.
Even throughout the shaky performances, one thing was clear: Jenkinson was going to fight for the cannon. You could argue that there is no other player on the Arsenal roster that cares as much about the club as young Carl.
And the performances improved. Jenkinson developed physically, mentally and technically. He transformed into one of Arsenal’s fittest players – trudging up and down the right hand side all game. The nerves were gone: Carl Jenkinson was finally starting to really believe he was good enough for Arsenal.
Hector Bellerín, Jenkinson’s long-term rival for the right-back spot, was always considered an elite prospect. Unlike Jenkinson, Bellerín came through the ranks at La Masia – the now infamous breeding ground of Xavi, Iniesta and even a certain Cesc Fabregas. He was signed in the summer of 2011 along with fellow Barcelona youngster Jan Toral.
After a year of adjusting to life in England and finding out where his natural position lie, Bellerín came on leaps and bounds in 2012-13. A string of impressive performances in both the NextGen competition and the Under-21 Premier League offered enough encouragement for Arsenal to offer the youngster a new long-term contract.
Bellerín is the much sexier option. He’s the prototypical modern full-back. He loves to get forward. Starting his career as a right-winger has given Bellerín many of the attacking instincts Carl Jenkinson lacks. He’s also much nimbler and more precise with his dribbling than the Englishman. And while Jenkinson’s touch and control have come on tremendously in the last 12 months, Bellerín is Spanish. He’s been brought up in an environment where every player should feel comfortable on the ball.
And it’s that environment that Arsene Wenger wants to breed at Arsenal. The pass-and-move culture. Possession. Dominance. Bellerín gets that. It’s been nailed into him since he was a young lad. Tiki-Taka is to him what times tables are to young mathematicians.
Jenkinson, on the other hand, is a much more solid defender. He could easily go onto be Arsenal’s Mr. Reliable. As much as I hate to pigeon-hole players, I just can’t see him ever evolving into a world-class or even a top-level Premier League right-back. He might play hundreds of games for Arsenal, but his ceiling just doesn’t project to be as high as the man from Barcelona’s.
Arsene Wenger faces many dilemmas when it comes to the right-back position. Bellerín is a mere 18 years old, Jenkinson is 21. How do you look at both players in the first-team; make a decision on what one to go with, whilst giving both a fair crack of the whip? Or does he bring in a stop-gap – like Jesus Gamez – to handle the reigns before either of the youngsters progress to the required level needed for Arsenal.
A loan is probably the only way. But that option hasn’t been explored yet. Out of the two, Jenkinson is the more attractive option for a Premier League club. He has experience and has proved a largely reliable quantity for one of the league’s best teams. With Jenkinson away, Bellerín can learn under the tutelage of Bacary Sagna; gain fringe minutes from the bench and via the Carling Cup and really make the mark that his talented-self projects to make in North London.
If you’re good enough, you’re old enough. And Bellerín is good enough. He has been training with the first team recently and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be in and around the fold throughout this campaign.
Can Arsenal get enough out of Sagna in the next few years to slowly introduce a younger right-back without losing too much productivity on the pitch? It’s a conundrum, for sure. But that’s why Arsene Wenger is on over £100,000-a-week, that’s why he’s won three Premier League title and that’s why he’s one of the best to ever manage – he generally makes the right decisions when it comes to young players.
