Wenger snaps up youngster after missing out on Jones

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger kicked off his summer transfer spending today with the £1m capture of promising young defender Carl Jenkinson from Charlton, but was left disappointed as England Under-21 international Phil Jones headed to Manchester United.

Blackburn centre-half Jones, 19, has long been on Wenger’s radar, and the Gunners boss is said to have personally intervened to try to push through a move only for the teenager to follow Chris Smalling in preferring a future at Old Trafford.