Arsene Wenger has suggested that Carl Jenkinson has fallen to the bottom of his pecking order for Arsenal’s right-back position after dropping the 24- year-old for the 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
Jenkinson has struggled in the Gunners’ last two fixtures against Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain and didn’t even make the bench for Sunday’s Premier League clash.
Mathieu Debuchy now faces an extended spell on the sidelines after he was forced off in the first half against Bournemouth, and with Hector Bellerin still out with an ankle injury, Wenger admits he will play either Gabriel or Francis Coquelin out of position ahead of Jenkinson.
‘I imagined that something can happen to [Debuchy],’ said the Arsenal manager.
‘I had Coquelin who was ready to play right-back as well. But I have gone for Gabriel, because he is more a defender and he’s very quick.
‘And he adapted well. I watched tapes of him of playing full-back at Villarreal, two or three times he played left-back.
‘I found only one tape of him playing in Brazil as a right-back, and I must say it was not super convincing. But I think today he did well.’
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