Arsene Wenger hailed Carl Jenkinson’s return to action against Reading on Tuesday night, claiming that his injury had been a nightmare.

The boss explained that, at the age of 24, spending nine months on the sidelines isn’t easy and to return in such a professional manner was impressive.

“He nearly scored, he had a good opportunity,” he told Arsenal Player.

“But I think what is very positive for him, when you have his age and you do not play for such a long time, it’s a nightmare.

“I’m very happy for him that he could come back and play for 90 minutes. And you could see he is well prepared, he is a very professional guy. He had no cramps, nothing, and he did last the whole game so overall that’s fantastic for him.”

Jenks had a solid match and, as Wenger praised, although he looked a bit tired towards the end, he didn’t once pull up with cramp or need to be subbed off. He played the full 90 minutes, which shows he’s been really preparing for that moment.

It’s this dedication that makes certain players stand out. If you show that you care and work your behind off, you’re at least heading in the right direction.

Wenger’s obviously impressed with how Jenks has progressed and although I doubt we’ll see him nudging Hector Bellerin out of that right-back position in the Premier League, it’ll be good for both to at least have some competition.