He switched allegiance from Finland to England after his Arsenal breakthrough, but it was a huge mistake

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Arsenal have had a lot of England International stars over the years, but they enjoyed varying levels of success with the National Team.

Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice have helped England reach back-to-back finals in the European Championships, and Saka was particularly impressive at Euro 2024.

The winger is already one of Arsenal’s most successful England players, as the likes of Ian Wright and Martin Keown were often overlooked for the National side despite impressing at Highbury.

Arsenal have also had players on the fringes of the squad, who never quite broke in. Eddie Nketiah received a call-up last year, but now at Crystal Palace, his chances of breaking into the side again appear slim.

One Arsenal player switched allegiances from Finland to England in the past after enjoying a strong spell of form under Arsene Wenger, but this proved to be a fatal mistake in his International career.

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Why Carl Jenkinson chose England over Finland after Arsenal breakthrough

Former Arsenal right-back Carl Jenkinson recently admitted that he joined the Gunners too early in his career, with the 32-year-old now playing for Bromley FC in League Two.

Jenkinson was signed by Wenger in 2011 as a raw but talented youngster at Charlton, but he endured a nightmare debut as Arsenal lost 8-2 at Manchester United.

Nevertheless, he eventually recovered to put in some impressive performances, and this impressed England manager Roy Hodgson in October 2012.

Jenkinson has an English father and a Finnish-Swedish mother, but having represented England at under-17 level, he decided to switch to Finland to play for their under-21s.

This was until an injury to Kyle Walker saw Jenkinson called up to the England senior side, with the 20-year-old then committing his future to England.

“He didn’t take a lot of convincing. We had a problem with Kyle Walker and wanted a full complement in our training session, so we called Carl up. He was in my thoughts anyway,” Hodgson stated of Jenkinson.

“I invited him to train with us knowing full well he couldn’t take part in this game, but it gave me the opportunity to sit down and ask him the question.

“I don’t want to trick him to play for England in a few minutes in a game to block him, but he had to make a decision because we’re very interested in him, even if the competition is tougher to get him into the England team rather than the Finland team. He made it very clear he wanted to play for England.”

Carl Jenkinson’s disastrous England cap

Jenkinson’s decision to represent England instead of Finland was a risky one, given that he was a 20-year-old with a lot of stiff competition ahead of him, and it proved to be a mistake.

England travelled to face Sweden in November 2012 with Jenkinson and Jack Wilshere on the bench, and Raheem Sterling making his first international start, but they were heavily beaten 4-2, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring all four.

Jenkinson came off the bench for his only England appearance, but could only watch in awe as Ibrahimovic scored his fourth with an iconic overhead kick from a long way out.

Jenkinson would never play for England again, and given his fondness for Finland, he may have been better off trying to build an international career with them.

Carl Jenkinson’s Connection to Finland

In the summer of 2013, Arsenal beat Manchester City in a pre-season clash in Helsinki, Finland, and prior to the game, Jenkinson revealed his connection to the country.

“I have a lot of fond memories from trips to Finland throughout my life, from when I’ve been as a kid all the way up until now,” Jenkinson told Arsenal club media at the time.

“My mum is Finnish and moved to England when she married my dad and I would go over there probably twice a year [when I was younger].

“I spent a lot of Christmases out there with the family and it’s a lovely place. It’s very picturesque and always snows at Christmas so as a kid it was amazing.

“I’ve spent a lot of time out there over the years and I’ve got a lot of good friends and family out there. I’ve got a lot of fond memories.”

Jenkinson’s desire to play for England may have been partially motivated by a potential language barrier, with the defender growing up in Essex.

“No, not really. Bits and bobs but only the basics to be honest – and even they’re not that great! It’s a difficult language to grasp. Fortunately a lot of my friends and family speak good English so I’m lucky in that sense,” Jenkinson replied when asked if he could speak Finnish.

Jenkinson’s career never panned out the way many would have expected, with the right-back going on to play in Australia, but perhaps he could have made more of an impact on the international stage had he not been tempted by the opportunity for one England call-up.