Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson has revealed his dream of playing for England again.

But the new Birmingham loanee admits he might have to leave the Emirates Stadium to fulfil his ambition.

Jenkinson, 25, won his only full cap almost five years ago but he insists he has not given up on playing for his country again.

That is despite making just one Premier League appearance last season for the Gunners and dropping down a division to join Harry Redknapp’s Birmingham.

“My main ambition to play for England again,” said Jenkinson, who could make his Blues debut at home to Reading on Saturday.

(Image: Michael Regan)

(Image: Getty)

“That’s something that’s in the back of my mind and getting back playing this season is going to be a stepping stone towards that.

“I want to crack on and play at the highest level again.

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“Whether that’s at Arsenal or whether I end up moving on time will tell, but I’m not focusing too much past this season.

“I’d love to play for England again and in the back of my mind I really believe I can do that.

“But for the time being I’ve just got to focus on the short term and that’s playing regularly here and hopefully I can push on from that.”

(Image: Stuart MacFarlane / Arsenal FC)

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

Jenkinson played for England against Sweden in November 2012 but his Arsenal career soon stalled and he left for two loan spells with West Ham.

He returned to fitness last season after a cruciate knee ligament injury but was frozen out by Gunners manager Arsene Wenger.

And the former Charlton defender admits he might now have to leave the Emirates Stadium permanently to get his career back on track.

“My career to a certain extent was at a standstill last season because I wasn’t playing, so you take a step back and reset your goals and think about what you really want to achieve in the rest of your career,” he said.

“I would love to pull on an England shirt again and that’s one of the goals I set myself for the rest of my career - to get back to that level.

(Image: PA)

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“I’ve still got three years left at Arsenal. I might have to look elsewhere but I’m not looking past this season.

“I’ll assess where I am at the end of the season. I’ve vowed to myself I just want to be playing football now. I’ve had a spell out and I want to make sure I’m playing football for the rest of my career, wherever that is.

“I like to think I’ve still got seven or eight years where I can play at the top level. But I’m 25 now, I’m not a kid anymore, so I need to be playing every week.

“I’ve got a lot of friends who have played in the Championship and I know it’s tough but I also know there’s a lot of quality.

“I am looking forward to tasting it week in, week out.”