Cory Varney
This is the first in a series of articles written by fans of clubs who have had Arsenal players on loan last season. We’ve asked them to give us an honest appraisal of the player’s performance, their relationship with the fans, whether they think the player has a chance of making it at Arsenal and, if not, whether they’d be interested in making the loan a permanent deal. First up, Henri Lansbury who spent over six months at Norwich City as they stormed to an unlikely automatic promotion from the Championship.
Henri arrived at Carrow Road in November, ahead of the first East Anglian derby of the season. He found himself handed a starting berth immediately, where he made an impressive debut, the highlight being an exquisite through-ball for Grant Holt to slam home a second for Norwich. Most City fans took to Lansbury from the off, he had a bite in the midfield, an aggression as well as a bundle of skill and passing talent.
His trademark ‘Dougie’ celebration became popular amongst the Carrow Road faithful, leading to public performances from Henners at the End of Season dinner and Civic Reception.
After a brief return to Arsenal, Lansbury's loan was extended until the end of the season. February proved to be, arguably, his best month as a Canary, scoring three goals - including a priceless last gasp strike against Millwall, seeing the Canaries run out as 2-1 winners. He continued to impress as he rammed home against Reading, capping an impressive move to give City the lead. His next goal came at Elland Road, where the 'Dougie' had its first outing as Lansbury drew the Canaries level.
Despite a positive start to his City career, Lansbury's performances began to falter slightly, seeing him dropped to the subs bench. He found opportunities limited, though did impress when introduced. He again struck late on as Bristol City came to Carrow Road, sparking a terrific late show for City to claim a 3-1 victory and catapult themselves into second.
With Norwich looking good value for promotion, Lansbury found first-team opportunities consistently hard to come by, although he did run the midfield when coming on against Scunthorpe United in a 6-0 thumping. Overall, it was a productive loan spell for the 20 year old, scoring four goals in 23 games and taking home a runners-up medal.
Although he looked impressive, he would not appear to be ready to be a regular Arsenal starter. If he was awash with such quality, it's fair to say he would have stood out like a baboon's backside in a field of snow and the way he struggled to hold down a starting place, particularly during the latter months of the season shows that this wasn’t the case. If he was to have a promising future at Arsenal, it's clear he would surely have been a regular starter for Norwich and made a continuous impact during proceedings.
There’s not much doubt Lansbury has the talent but needs to be carefully nurtured because whilst he has looked good in the Championship, he is yet to be tested at the highest level and therefore another loan spell, this time at a Premiership club may be the best course of action for him.
Recent interviews have indicated he wants assurances that he has a future at Arsenal otherwise he'll be seeking employment at another club and there are many fans at City who would be delighted to see Paul Lambert parading Lansbury as one of his new signings this summer. It's over to you Mr. Wenger to decide the part Henri is to play.
Thanks to Danny from the excellent unofficial Norwich City fans' site ontheballcity.com for his help in organising this piece.
