According to The Metro, Arsenal are demanding around £12million for their right back, Carl Jenkinson. This news was also reported on yesterday however new details have come out about the transfer fee.

It appeared that Arsenal were asking for over £10million for the defender, a fee West Ham would struggle to afford, and it has now become clear that West Ham are only willing to reach a fee of around £6million for the 22-year old.

It is also rumoured however that Arsenal would be willing to accept a bid of around £8million. The Gunners themselves are in the market for a defender and the Hammers’ Winston Reid is a top transfer target.

The speculation over the Jenkinson price tag has got me thinking; Should Wenger and Allardyce just do a straight swap?

If you consider age, Jenkinson (22) is four years younger than Reid (26). You can look at this two ways, Reid is closer to that ripe age from centre backs to be playing in their prime. If we do a straight swap, we would be getting a player coming into the peak of his abilities which would certainly bolster our defence. On the other hand, we would miss out on having the player Jenkinson WILL be in the future, nobody can underestimate he will be a great defender in the coming years.

A pro for the idea of a straight swap is the fact that Arsenal have some depth in the right back position. The Gunners just signed Calum Chambers and Mathieu Debuchy, plus the emergence of Hector Bellerin means that competition for right back is fierce and I can’t see Jenko getting much play time next season at the Emirates.

A con however, is that Arsenal would be losing out on a reliable right back for the times where Arsenal’s back line all got injured in that shaky five week period the Gunners have every year.

One area that may not be useful for the Gunners is the passing quality Arsenal will lose out on if we let Jenkinson go. He is a strong passer of the ball and fits Arsenal style of play very well. Reid on the other hand is a fan of playing long balls and his passing is not overly strong. You could make the argument however that Mertesacker’s passing isn’t very good, he just keeps it simple, which I can’t really argue with.

A swap deal would probably be healthiest for both clubs as they would both be getting exactly what they need, however I would like Arsenal to keep Jenkinson, I really like him as a player and I believe he can add to the team.