'Arsenal boss stunned me when he lost his cool with one player – I saw his true colours'

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Ex-Arsenal star Henri Lansbury says Arsene Wenger only ever lost his cool with one player during his time at the Emirates . The 35-year-old also opened up about what the Frenchman was truly like.

Lansbury began his professional career in north London, but despite being touted as the next big thing by Wenger , he never made a mark in the first team. After a series of loan spells, he left the club permanently in 2012 to join Nottingham Forest .

The midfielder later played for Aston Villa , Bristol City and Luton Town before retiring in 2023. He looks back upon his years amongst Arsenal's youth ranks fondly, much like his time around the first team.

But recalling how it was to work under Wenger, Lansbury brought up an incident involving one specific Gunners star and shed some light on exactly what sort of character the legendary manager was.

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Speaking on In The Mixer , brought to you by Sky Bet, Lansbury said: "He was brilliant with me. Every time I wanted to go on loan or go and play games, he was like, 'Go out.'

"Then at the end of the season, I'd come back and obviously the Championship finishes a bit earlier. And he'd put me straight back in the first team and put me on the bench and then give me a few minutes here and there.

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"When I did decide to leave. I had a chat with him. He was like, 'I want you to stay about but I can't guarantee you game time.' I was like, 'I just want game time.' He was like, 'All right, well go, all the best and I'll see you in the future.'

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"It was just his whole aura. When he comes out on the training pitch and he's doing his little kick-ups. Honestly, it's brilliant. And then when you're young and you go in the first team dressing room, you see him, you're like... It wasn't fear."

But Lansbury remembers one time the usually composed Wenger lost his head at ex-Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner. He added: "I think I only saw him lose his s**t one time.

"That was Burnley away. It was with Nicklas Bendtner. I think we were just like, not really longing it off, but just weren't doing stuff. He went mad. I was like, 'Oh my God, he can actually lose it as well.'"

In terms of where Wenger ranks among iconic Premier League managers, Lansbury thinks there's one man who's surpassed his legacy since his retirement.

"That's a tough one," said Lansbury when asked who the greatest Premier League boss of all time is. "I think he [Wenger] is up there. But for me, now I think Pep has blown everyone out of the water."

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