The England international snubbed the opportunity to join Crystal Palace in January, but insists his wage demands played no part in that decision
Carl Jenkinson concedes that he might not “get that much football” at Arsenal, but insists he is not being forced towards the exit.
The 25-year-old has been at the Emirates for over five years, but has had just 27 Permier League starts and 11 substitute appearances in that time.
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The England international had the opportunity to move on during the January transfer window, with Crystal Palace looking to take him across London, but opted to remain at the Gunners.
Jenkinson insists he has no problem with that, but is aware that he needs to find regular football at some stage in the near future, having slipped behind Hector Bellerin in the right-back pecking order.
“Maybe I won’t get that much football now but I’ve still got a three-and-a-half-year contract, I’m at Arsenal, played for Arsenal for a number of years,” he told The Telegraph.
“They are not pushing me out of the door but I also know I need to play football.”
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Jenkinson has also sought to clear up rumours suggesting that excessive wage demands led to a breakdown in talks regarding a transfer to Palace.
He maintains that he was not looking for “silly money” and that the decision to stay put for now was based on a number of factors, including any move needing to be “right” for him.
“I wanted to clear up some of the things that came out since the move didn’t happen, which were false with regard to the supposed excessive demands for the move to go through,” added Jenkinson.
“I took it quite personally. I tend to keep away from the papers and what’s written … but when I was seeing certain things, I take it personally.
“I think in a number of ways, Palace would have been a good fit. It would have enabled me to play again and that’s all I want: to play football.
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“I had a great year with Big Sam [Allardyce, at West Ham], played some of the best football of my career and got on very well with him. I’ve got great respect for him as a manager. The opportunity to play under him again was something I was interested in doing. In the end it didn’t pan out.
“It’s a culmination of things. When you do leave a club like Arsenal, everything needs to be right. It needs to be the right manager and financially – don’t get me wrong, I don’t want silly money – it needs to be right for me.”