Luton assistant labels Town's ex-Arsenal, Villa and Forest midfielder as one of the 'most wonderful technicians in the country'

Town midfielder Henri Lansbury has been described as one of the best technicians the game has seen in the past decade by Luton assistant manager Chris Cohen.

The duo spent five years together at Nottingham Forest between 2012-17, when Lansbury was snapped up by the Reds from Arsenal for a fee of £1m, joining Cohen, who had been signed from West Ham five years earlier.

He scored 33 goals in 150 games while at the City Ground, his form persuading Aston Villa to part with £2.75m in January 2017.

Injuries restricted the midfielder to 53 appearances during his four years at Villa Park though, as he then went to Bristol City for six months before joining Luton in June 2021.

There, he linked up with Cohen once more, who had joined as first team coach in September 2020, promoted to number two in the summer.

Speaking about his influence at Kenilworth Road during the last 16 months, Cohen said: “Henri’s a good friend of mine from our time together at Forest.

“He’s a wonderful footballer and someone who’s had a wonderful career.

“The in-possession stuff, he’s one of the most wonderful technicians in the country, it’s not overstating it.

“To be able to manipulate the ball, the passing range that he’s got, he has been, for me, one of the best in possession, passing and technicians that’s been playing in the last 10, 15 years.

“We know the impact he can have.

"It’s not going to be every single week for us throughout the course of the season, but over the course of last season and at the start of this, he comes in and has done a wonderful job to help us get results.

“He hasn’t always had the opportunity to show that through injury and through not playing, but we feel very fortunate to have a player of Henri’s calibre.

"Most importantly, even though he’s had different careers to most of the players in the group, there’s not an ounce of arrogance about him.

“He does the work with the boys, he enjoys coming in every day, and the boys love him.

“He’s been a great addition to the squad over the last 14, 15 months.”

Lansbury has been utilised in a slightly deeper role for the Hatters this term, allowing the likes of Jordan Clark and Allan Campbell to burst forward, but Cohen thinks his work off the ball deserves a huge mention too, continuing: “The out of possession stuff probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

“His experience, his know-how and his nous, is difficult to see on the television, but easier to see when you’re watching the game live, in terms of the positions he puts himself in to stop teams from counter-attacking and getting into positions to hurt you.”

Having made his name as a goalscoring midfielder in his time at City Ground, with a season high of 11 in the 2014-15 campaign, it was something of a surprise that his first goal in Luton colours against Hull recently was his first strike in over four years.

The quality of it wasn’t in doubt though, Lansbury finding the bottom corner from fully 35 yards with a strike of undoubted quality, earning a nomination for the Sky Bet Championship Goal of the Month.

Cohen added: “We all know the quality he’s got.

"We laugh at him because, in training he does finishing drills and he’s one of the best finishers we’ve got, yet hadn’t scored for four years. It doesn’t add up,

“We asked them to strike balls as much as we can from outside the box because Hull were conceding a lot of goals, but the technique, the ability to do it and the celebration as well, it was testament to what we see every day.”