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'Carl showed how professional he is'

After 10 months on the sidelines, Carl Jenkinson returned from injury to help Arsenal beat Reading 2-0 at Emirates Stadium.

The England defender had not featured for the Gunners since scoring his first goal for the club against Norwich City 898 days earlier, but impressed Arsene Wenger with a complete performance in Tuesday’s EFL Cup win.

"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."

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance also caught the boss’ eye on Tuesday, scoring both goals against Jaap Stam’s side, and Wenger says the England midfielder’s hard work in training is paying off on the pitch.

"He worked hard and I believe he is determined," he said. "Sometimes before he played like he didn’t deserve to score, but now he has added something to his game.

"That is belief, that is desire and that makes of course the difference. He has the technique, he has the power, he has it all in the locker and it is starting to come out from his body and that’s what we want."

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