There is no one prouder to play for Arsenal than Carl Jenkinson.

Having grown up as a fan of the club from an early age, he was once a Junior Gunner before making the dream move to Emirates Stadium in 2011.

After two loan spells at West Ham and then a serious knee injury, pulling on the shirt against Reading for the first time in 898 days was an emotional moment for the right back.

"Arsenal is my club," Jenkinson said. "I went out on loan for a couple of years but I always thought I wanted to perform so I can come back here, I wanted to be good enough and I still want to be good enough to play here.

"I guess I was proving that I can play at this level, or trying to, while I was out on loan.

"I loved my time at West Ham, I played a lot of football and it was fantastic for me. It's a great club and I enjoyed every minute I had there, but it is great for me to be back here now.

"Arsenal is my club and it is an honour every time I pull on the shirt."

Jenkinson completed 90 minutes on his return in the 2-0 win over Reading - and enjoyed every moment of the experience.

"It was brilliant," he said. "It has been a long time, I was told it had been 898 since my last appearance. That is a long time coming, especially with my injury and stuff so it was great to be back out there.

"I was more excited than anything, not really nervous at all. I was just excited to be playing again and to do so for Arsenal was the cherry on top of the cake."