He scores goals, he makes goals, he runs the midfield, and he captains.
A few years ago, Henri Lansbury was seen as the next big thing by Arsenal insiders. Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Arsenal legend Alan Smith (who I'd imagine has a good nose for talent...) described him as a player with "huge potential". Lansbury's year was the first in the academy to start at under-nine level, and he was seen as the brightest prospect of the lot. He has so far enjoyed an exceptional career in the England youth teams, and looks set to become a quality Premiership player.
Lansbury's natural position is in the centre, but he can play in a more advanced role and has frequently been deployed on the right wing. He has an athletic build, is an influential character on the pitch, can dictate passing moves, and has a keen eye for goal - essentially, the attributes of a young Steven Gerrard. At six feet, he's about three times the height of most of our midfielders, and is far more dominant physically and in the air.
This season he's been producing some excellent displays on loan at Watford, and is proving himself a real force in their midfield. Despite only turning 19 last month, he has already made fifteen league starts, setting up three and scoring two. After watching Lansbury tear the likes of Preston and Sheffield Wednesday to pieces over the last few months, Watford manager Malky Mackay has been singing his praises and is now seeking to extend his loan at Vicarage Road, which is set to expire at the end of this year.
What makes Lansbury's recent form all the more impressive is that he has bounced back from a long spell on the sidelines; he missed more than half of 2008 with glandular fever, but this doesn't seem to have stunted his development. Only a few months after his recovery, he went out on loan to Scunthorpe United, where he scored 5 goals in 17 games and became an integral part of their midfield as they achieved promotion to the Championship and reached the final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley.
His international record so far is hugely impressive. He captained the England Under-16s and Under-19s, reaching the final of the European Under-19 Championship this year having scored three goals in the competition. In November, only a month after his nineteenth birthday, he made his debut for the England Under-21s in their qualifier against Portugal. Aside from his captaincies, he has been a key figure throughout his time in the England youth teams: in fifteen Under-17 appearances, he scored five times; in twelve for the Under-19s, he scored seven.
Two seasons out on loan doesn't tend to be a good sign for a young English player's Arsenal career, and he's been extremely unlucky to have missed out on so much playing time in the under-18s. But Lansbury is finally beginning to get the recognition he deserves, and if his loan is extended Watford will have a real gem of a player this season.
Sunday, 27 December 2009
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14 comments:
Arsenal would not let go of someone of Lansbury's class. He is a future Arsenal player.
With all the regulations about home bred players needed to be in squad coming in I think he will be back at Arsenal in the future. Prob stay at Watford for rest of season tho :)
His contract is up in 6 months.
With Ramsey & maybe Merdia who can play that role ahead him, afraid not.
He stick a sell on clause though like he has in the past.
He has a better shot being an Englishmen than Merida or any other lad at this juncture. I think it is in the best interest especially of Wenger to include the likes of Lansbury or a Simpson. Any marketeer will tell you that the lack of English talent is why they Tabs keep picking on Arsenal. And, if they are quality then why not! I predict that Simpson, Lansbury, Freeman, Wiltshire, Gibbs, & Ramsay will be the next generation!
He should stay until he's 22 at which point he may be a better overall player than Ramsey, or Denilson, or Diaby.
Speak to some Watford fans or those who have actually seen him performing over a number of weeks for 90 minutes at a stretch. Apart from one or two cameos Lansbury has been average at best. In fact, Cleverly who is on loan at Watford from Man U has been much the better and more effective performer. With Wiltshere in front of him and Frimpong, Merida and JET around I'd be surprised if he makes it at Arsenal. He has all the hallmarks of another Bentley - he flatters to deceive. The best we are likely to get out of him will be via a sell on clause.
not a lie at all but hes my mate and we speak to him all the time and he wont leave arsenal and they rate him very highly!!!! esp seeing he is the longest serving arsenal youngster.... hes a very gd player
I thinks we all want to see Henri make it at Arsenal, but it's true there is a lot of competition and they can't all play. Jet, Frimpong, Coquelin, Wiltshire, Merida all have a good chance + Denilson, Song, Diaby are still young as well, not to mention 1 or 2 in the youth teams. Gibbs has only just started playing LB and he may also move back into midfield in the future.
Errr no. Yes he's had a fantastic time on loan, but every time I've seen him make an appearance in our reserves or league cup side he's been average.
He's got good technical ability for an Englishman, but his decision making is poor and at times he can be very selfish on the ball which is not acceptable at Arsenal. There are a lot of players at the club, some younger than him, who play with a lot more maturity and I wouldn't be suprised if he leaves the club next summer.
Good luck to him though as he could do a very good job for a Championship/bottom 6 Prem side.
I'm a Watford fan, and I really rate him. Hopefully he'll stay for the rest of the season, mainly because our financial crisis means we haven't got many other options, but also because hes given our midfield some creativity and, alongside Man U's Cleverley, hes made us a more exciting team to watch.
Ironically another thing he shares with Gerrard is that he can go very, very quiet at times, but he's been a key player for us and yeah he might not become a massive player, but I think he's got a future in the England squad.
3 times the size of our midfielders? so he's around 17ft tall is what your saying cos last time i checked most our cms were around 5'8-5'10
He's going to be a great player, sadly I really doubt he'll be with us. He's from the academy's first proper batch, and I expect him to give us some regrets, unlike Sidwell and Bentley...
The commentor before me - I think he might have been joking
I think Arsenal fans are way too comfortable with our options in attacking midfield. Cesc might not be around forever, Merida wants to go back to Spain, Rosicky isn't getting any younger, Nasri's the kind of player who might leave us for a bigger European club, I could go on.
Next season we will need to retain him, we'd be foolish not to. He's got a great attacking mind for an English player, and of all the things to criticise him for, his decision making isn't one of them. Sure he might have struggled when he went into the reserves, but the coaches have given him time because of the glandular fever, and he's shown his class by becoming an important player for Watford. If you watch their plays, his communication is often what holds it together and he dominates older teammates. He has more captain material than most of our current first team.
I honestly think Wenger has a plan for Lansbury, he hasn't overlooked him. He's got too much to give the club, and to compare him to Bentley is an insult to his far superior strength in character.
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