Ready Or Not: Henri Lansbury at Gunnerblog

Ready Or Not: Henri Lansbury

360 guns July 21st, 2010

As a sixteen-year old, creative midfielder Henri Lansbury was one of the most talked about players in the Arsenal academy. However, whilst we’ve got used to seeing youngsters like Mark Randall and Craig Eastmond on the fringes of the first team, Lansbury has spent the majority of his time out on loan. In 2008/09 he spent half the season at Scunthorpe, and last year he spent the entire campaign at Watford.

He was handed a new deal at Arsenal just six months ago, so it’s clear the club are keen to hang on to him - but is that just to sell him for a decent fee, or to make him part of a new-look squad?

Thanks to Watford fan Patrick ‘Lloyd Doyley’ McNicholas for answering the now familiar set of questions.

How big an impact did Henri make at Watford?

Despite being very quiet for the first two or three home games I watched (and as a season ticket holder, I’ve seen all his home matches), I don’t think I’d be alone in saying that, once he found his feet, he was arguably our player of the season behind Tom Cleverley.

It could be said that his assists and goals (most noticeably in his performance of the season v Sheff Wed at home, scoring two and setting up two) were the reason for our survival. Had Malky Mackay not scooped up Lansbury and instead used a youth player in his position, the outcome to the season could have been very different.

What are his main strengths and weaknesses as a player?

He’s undoubtedly a pacey player, with a very good eye when it comes to short/long passing, and scoring key goals. However he can also get a bit ‘cocky’ with his game play, occasionally unnecessarily trying to out-skill an opposing player, which will backfire, or opting to go it alone instead of picking out more suitable passes.

What is his best position?

He was a key midfielder, especially out on the right, though he did have a tendency to sneak into a strikers role for brief periods of the game.

Which top flight player does he remind you of?

I know this sounds very “stereotypical Watford fan”, but he really does remind me of Ashley Young. His quick pace, keen eye and good shot, be it via a set piece or in open play, really brought back memories of the Villa midfielder.

Do you think he could make it at Arsenal?

I’ve only seen a first hand viewing of him at Championship level, and after two failed premiership campaigns as a Watford fan, I can tell you that there is a very big difference between the two leagues. So I can’t promise he’ll be a fundamental midfielder…yet. Give him time and he may be the next Ronaldo, who knows! But judging on his performances against the likes of West Brom and Newcastle for us this year, and his 14-minute Arsenal debut against Fulham, I’d say he is going to emerge as a very good player- be it for Arsenal, or another top flight team.

So there we have it. Something of a surprising comparison with Ashley Young there, but it’s clear that Lansbury has matured from his scrawnier teenage form in to quite the athlete. With Aaron Ramsey out for another few months (at least), this is as good an opportunity as he’ll have to seize a place in the squad.

An impressive performance in today’s friendly with Sturm Graz could make all the difference.

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15 Comments Add your own

1. dave | July 21st, 2010 at 10:58 am

I have to say i love this series, great work
2. garyhoggett | July 21st, 2010 at 11:07 am

I have to totally disagree with what watford fan Patrick ‘Lloyd Doyley’ McNicholas has said.It was our loanee from man utd Tom Cleverley who played out wide for watford not Henri Lansbury who played 95% of his games for watford in centre midfield.He created plenty of chances for the golden boys,knowing that with John Eustace sitting infront of the back 4,it gave him the freedom to move forward and start plenty of attacks with Cleverley.As the season went along the understanding between Tom and Henri was superb.He has great vision and scores some cracking goals,especially from long range like away to Coventry on the last game of last season.Trying to find a space or position for him in the Arsenal team will be difficult although he could play the Cesc Fabregas role futher down his career.I would sooner him play another season on loan,hopefully back with Watford or a mid-table premier league that will allow him to play and not to sit on their subs bench
3. john | July 21st, 2010 at 11:25 am

I am a massive Henri Lansbury. I know the lad personally hes from Enfield , North London hes a gooner through and through unlike Jack wilshere.

Hes a massive talent i always remeber the Euro under 17s England went to the final and lost to spain. Henri lansbury was the best player in that tournament alon gside bojan krkic and eden hazard. But lansbury has been unlucky hes been injured and he had that terrible illness which is why his development has gone backwards.

But now with the loan spell he looks alot more powerful, physically built because technically he was always excellent.

I really hope he can make it for me hes like a gerrard and fabregas put into one
4. NT | July 21st, 2010 at 12:04 pm

Just wanted to say I’m really enjoying these player previews…those of us outside of England so rarely get a chance to see the up-and-comers! Keep it up!
5. Bala | July 21st, 2010 at 12:30 pm

I like this new series very much.I think lansbury should spend first six months at arsenal and then depending upon the perfomances he can spend the rest of the season at arsenal or at loan to a prem club
6. Craf | July 21st, 2010 at 12:55 pm

Great series this - I always look out for it. provides an engaging insite from outside the Arsenal fold on players we don’t all get the chance to see very often
7. king gooner | July 21st, 2010 at 12:59 pm

john,why do you say”unlike jack wilshere”-he’s been with us since aged 7year old or something like that!
8. hnic | July 21st, 2010 at 1:07 pm

Lansburys is as good as if not better than denilson, plus he has that hunger!! And to top it off he’s been at arsenal all his life been an england international since he was 16!!

He deserves some Acknowledgement!! He’s been patient! He’s probably as good as ramsey!! And I think ramsey has world class potential!!
9. Kipmonster | July 21st, 2010 at 1:21 pm

It’s time us Arsenal fans were not so docile & took some action against Barcelona & their players, FIFA, UEFA & also too our club Arsenal for their hierarchy’s failure to formally complain & show for a change a desire to protect their fans interests instead of their obsession with money & the potentially even more increasingly lucrative return at us fans huge expense, shareholders will get when they eventually sell in the not so distant future.

See the Facebook group …………………

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=116042895106146
10. watfoo | July 21st, 2010 at 1:40 pm

I don’t know where you found that Watford ‘fan’ but i think he is getting a little confused. It was Cleverly that played on the right wing all season and created and scored key goals.

Lansbury is a battling, forward thinking CENTRAL midfielder. Capable of neat passing, bursting into the box as well as pressing the other team.

However he had a tendency to go missing at times and can lose his head a bit when things aren’t going his way. He always looked better when Cleverly was in the team.

Definitly one fot the future but perhaps not with Arsenal (can we please have him back though.)
11. JS | July 21st, 2010 at 2:55 pm

I have to say, I too find this review of Lansbury’s time at Watford a little dubious. Like Gary Hoggett, I can’t recall a single time that Lansbury played on the right. Most of the time he was in the centre-midfield, sometimes behind the sole striker. Right wing was Cowie/Cleverley/Smith. And the comparison with Ashley Young is very odd. Young is yer typical winger, Lansbury, as he acknowledges later in the piece, is a proto-Fabregas. I don’t recall him being particularly pacey or a set-piece taker either.

Player of the season behind Cleverley? Not for me, he’d come behind five or six other players before I’d even consider him. He struggled initially behind the main striker, then had a purple patch in the autumn when we had the aforementioned fantastic Sheffield Wednesday display. Then as Watford season descended into a relegation scrap he made less of an impact. Rarely terrible, rarely all that brilliant, not all that many assists - the Watford blog Bhappy counts 5, 3 in the autumn, 2 in January/February. Five goals, 2 in the Wednesday win, goals in away defeats to Blackpool and Ipswich, and one in an away 4-0 final day thrashing of Coventry.

One might reasonably expect more from the vaunted Arsenal system. I can’t blame him, whether he suceeds at the Emirates won’t rest on how he performed as an 18/19 year old on a terrible pitch (which can’t have helped his style, Cleverley too struggled with it) in what became a brutal Championship relegation battle. What he learnt at Watford can only benefit him, and he was never afraid to pitch in - indeed, to the extent that he was a frustrating walking yellow card for much of the latter part of the season, he’s got a petty temper on him that saw him upend a few when dispossessed. Ultimately, he needs to take experience back to Arsenal and see whether the game he can play with Arsenal, but struggled to play at Watford, is good enough to develop into Premiership quality.

Would I have him back - yes, despite my evaluation he was perfectly capable in our team, and will only get better. But then in Watford’s situation, I think I’d take anyone! Might have we gone down without him, as the review suggests? Every little counts at that level, but I think it places too much weight on his performances for us.
12. T-H Krag | July 21st, 2010 at 5:41 pm

Hi Gilberto/Gunnerblog.

I have to say that this series is absolutely brilliant! The whole idea of looking at academy players on loan in this way really makes sense - especially when it comes to Arsenal.
The big question is whether this tendency is continuing as the economy becomes increasingly better for the club - and the youth policy may change in accordance with this.
(Fact: The new stadium has ‘cost us’ titles).

But for now it is brilliant and I wonder why nobody came up with it before!

Keep it up!
13. Ready Or Not: Henri Lansb&hellip | July 22nd, 2010 at 6:16 am

[...] Ready Or Not: Henri Lansbury 2010 July 22 tags: Henri, Lansbury, Ready by rich Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress PluginAs a sixteen-year old, creative midfielder Henri Lansbury was one of the most talked about players in the Arsenal academy. However, whilst we’ve got used to seeing youngsters like Mark Randall and Craig Eastmond on the fringes of the first team, Lansbury has spent the majority of his time out on loan. In 2008/09 he [...] Gunnerblog [...]
14. Ready Or Not: Wojciech Sz&hellip | July 27th, 2010 at 12:48 pm

[...] offering in the Ready Or Not series, which has so far looked at Jay Emmanuel Thomas, Jack Wilshere, Henri Lansbury, and Jay Simpson. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so it seems this feature is [...]
15. Josh | August 29th, 2010 at 11:44 pm

Whoever said he is from Enfield is wrong I went to his primary and secondary school and he is from Potters bar so you obviously don’t know him

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