? I can play in different positions, Djourou says
? Jenkinson's knee injury leaves squad stretched
Johan Djourou says he is ready to answer Arsenal's problem at right-back as Carl Jenkinson prepared for a lay-off of at least two weeks after undergoing a scan on an injured knee.
Ars�ne Wenger was already without his first-choice, Bacary Sagna, due to a fractured fibula which will keep him out until January, and so the manager was disappointed to lose Jenkinson after an hour of the 1-0 Champions League win at Marseille on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old, who joined from Charlton Athletic for �1m in the summer, was gripped by pain in his right knee after making a routine clearance and he was forced off. He had hoped to enjoy a run of starts in Sagna's absence.
Arsenal do not have any more established specialists in the position and Djourou, the central defender who came on for Jenkinson at the Stade V�lodrome and helped to set up Aaron Ramsey's winning goal, is prominent among the contenders to deputise.
Wenger could turn to the centre-half Laurent Koscielny and he feels that the left-back Andr� Santos "could eventually play there". Santos, though, is needed on the left as Kieran Gibbs is out for two weeks with a stomach-muscle injury. The other options at right-back are Francis Coquelin, the defensive midfielder, and Nicholas Yennaris, the 18-year-old reserve-team player.
Djourou has endured a trying season after finishing the last one as arguably the club's most consistent performer in central defence; he has been undermined by a niggling hamstring injury and his starting opportunities have been restricted. He can now sense an unlikely break. Arsenal entertain Stoke City on Sunday and they are at Chelsea the following Saturday.
"I am a centre-back first ? I love my game, I love playing football and when I can play, it's a relief," Djourou said. "So if I have to play right-back to help the team, then I will do it. It worked out against Marseille because I played the final ball for the goal. But I just want to play football.
"I have played a few times before at right-back and it's a completely different game. When you play centre-back you can see the whole game in front of you but when you're on the wing, you have to adjust a little bit. When you are used to something and then you to move, it's something else. But I'm a player who can play in different positions."
Wenger and his players talked up the character and resilience that they showed at Marseille to secure the result that puts them in charge of Group F, and the post-match theme was that a corner has been turned.
"There is absolutely no question that our confidence is returning," said Ramsey, who reported no ill effects on his comeback after a tight hamstring. "We've not had the greatest of starts but hopefully now we've turned a bit of a corner and we're getting a few wins on the bounce."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/oct/20/johan-djourou-arsenal-carl-jenkinson-marseille
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