Graduating through the Arsenal youth academy, Lansbury eventually went on to make eight first-team appearances for the Gunners. His finest moment in the red and white was undoubtedly his goal at Spurs in a League Cup tie, but after reaching such heights, first-team opportunities were at a premium and the 23 year-old is now plying his trade with Nottingham Forest in the Championship.
After being on the books at Arsenal since the age of 8, Henri Lansbury’s first-team debut finally came in 2007, when he came on as a sub in a 3-0 win over Sheffield United in the League Cup. An injury kept him out for the rest of the 07/08 campaign, and after a full pre-season he returned to the Arsenal first-team fold for the start of the 08/09 campaign. Once more, he was restricted to cup appearances and in the January window he was loaned to Scunthorpe to get some valuable first-team experience. With the League 1 side he performed admirably, notching up 4 goals in 16 appearances along the way.
At the start of the 09/10 season Lansbury was loaned out to Watford in the Championship. The step up to another level really helped his game and at the end of the campaign he returned to the Gunners with 37 league appearances under his belt. After gaining this valuable experience, Lansbury was officially part of the first-team squad for the start of the 10/11 season, and soon after he was scoring his first goal for the club.
It came at White Hart Lane of all places, and it was a goal to savour. A typical Arsenal move developed on the left-hand side and after many passes were exchanged, Lansbury applied the finishing touch to a perfect Wilshere centre. His performance meant he was placed on the bench for a couple of Champions League ties, but before he knew it he was on loan again, this time at Norwich. He played there for the whole season, playing 23 times, and being involved in 9 goals during his spell with the East Anglian’s.
Another loan move was just round the corner for Lansbury at the start of the 11/12 season, and this time he linked up with West Ham. He played a key role in getting them promoted, playing 22 times in the process, before coming back to Arsenal at the end of the season. He played two league games for the club at the back-end of the campaign, but these were to be his last in an Arsenal shirt.
In 2013, Lansbury joined Nottingham Forest, in a deal in excess of a £1 million. Since then he has gone on to play 63 league games for the club and is a key member of the side that expect to get promoted this season.
At 23, Lansbury has plenty of time on his hands to reach the top-level. He should achieve promotion with the Forest side this season. If he does, it’ll be intriguing to see how he performs , but few would bet against him showing the rich potential he showed in glimpses at the Gunners.