Carl Jenkinson

Charlton Athletic

Jenkinson joined Charlton Athletic as a six-year-old, and took up a scholarship in 2008. He joined Conference South club Welling United on work experience terms in January 2010, and made ten league appearances. He signed his first professional contract in 2010, and was named in a Charlton squad for the first time for their 4–3 League Cup defeat away to Shrewsbury Town in August. In November, he started a three-month loan with Conference Premier club Eastbourne Borough. He made five appearances in the first month, including a man-of-the-match performance in the FA Trophy against Boreham Wood, before being recalled by Charlton. He went straight into the starting eleven at right-back for the Football League Trophy Southern Section semi-final clash with Brentford at Griffin Park, and played the whole match as Brentford won the penalty shoot-out after a goalless draw. Jenkinson was given his Football League debut by Chris Powell on 15 February 2011; he replaced Simon Francis after 52 minutes of a 2–1 League One defeat at Hartlepool United. He made seven more league appearances that season, all as a starter.

Arsenal

2011–12 season

Jenkinson signed for Arsenal in June 2011, for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £1 million. On 16 August, he made his competitive debut in the final qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League against Udinese, as a 55th-minute substitute for the injured left-back Johan Djourou. He made his Premier…

Club

As of match played 7 March 2026

International

As of match played 14 November 2012

Jenkinson has an English father and a Finnish-Swede mother, and represented both England and Finland at youth international level. Jenkinson played for England at under-17 level, but then switched his allegiances to Finland at under-18 level. He was part of the team that competed at the 2010 Granatkin Memorial tournament, at which he made three appearances and captained the team in the 1–0 defeat by Ukraine. He also made an appearance for the Finland under-21 team on 3 June 2011 in a 2013 European Championship qualifying match that resulted in a 0–0 draw with Malta. In October 2012, England manager Roy Hodgson confirmed that Jenkinson had trained with the senior team prior to their World Cup qualifier against Poland, after fellow right-back Kyle Walker withdrew, and that the player had elected to make himself available for England rather than Finland in future, despite the increased competition for places. He made his senior debut for England on 14 November, as a 74th-minute substitute for Glen Johnson in a 4–2 friendly defeat against Sweden. In October 2013, Jenkinson was first called up to the England U21 squad for European Championship qualifiers against Lithuania and San Marino. He kept his place in the squad for the following qualifiers, one of which was against his former team Finland U21, a match in which he started.

Jenkinson was born in Harlow, Essex, to an English father, Steve, and a Finnish-Swedish mother, Hayde; he has an older brother, Marc. He was raised in Buckhurst Hill, and attended Davenant Foundation School in nearby Loughton. Jenkinson is a boyhood Arsenal fan, and attended matches with his father and brother.