I was Arsene Wenger’s next Arsenal star, now I’m going to Monaco to sort out their grass

Promoted to the Premier League with Luton, Henri Lansbury will instead be going to Europe, but not as a footballer.

The Arsenal academy graduate has had a hugely successful career in the Championship, helping West Ham, Aston Villa and Luton all achieve the lucrative goal of promotion to the top flight.

But after a debilitating injury in late 2022 left him requiring serious surgery, retirement is now on the cards for the 32-year-old.

Thankfully, though, he already has a new passion on the go, and while it’s football related, it’s likely a first for players coming to the end of their career.

Explaining his new venture, Grass Gains, to talkSPORT, Lansbury said: “It came about during the first lockdown when I was stuck at home and got into gardening.

“I started to spray my weeds with toxic stuff and put toxic fertiliser down and my missus wasn’t too happy about the kids running on the grass straight after.

“I was trying to usher them off and she said ‘why can’t they just make an organic fertiliser?’

“I put my head together with my mate and me and the boys have cracked on and taken it to another level.”

The product has since crossed the pond into Europe, and Lansbury will soon be heading to Champions League level destinations he once dreamed of as a player.

“We’ve done Fulham, we’ve done Genk and we’re in at Monaco soon,” he said.

“We’re going in the right direction, a few local clubs have asked for it and we’ve put it down on their pitches as well.

“I want to give back to the local clubs really, I want them to have a nice pitch to play on, there’s nothing better than a kid running on a pitch with stripes on it and that’s what it does, it helps stripe it off.”

WHAT A STRIKE! The