Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen looks to be a Fantasy Football gem
A drab performance at the Emirates had Spurs fans worried that the money spent this summer was going to waste; no player could directly replace the goals and impact of Gareth Bale, and they lacked invention in the final third. Eriksen came in and lit up the win over Norwich in his first appearance in Tottenham colours, and as WhoScored.com tell us, all of a sudden looks like he might turn out to be the best of their many summer signings.
After having left the Eredivisie second in the assists charts this season, the Dane quickly picked up where he left off, setting up the first Premier League goal Spurs have scored in open play this season only 28 minutes into his debut. He followed that up – his fourth assist in five appearances in Holland and England – with a fantastic goal after coming off the bench against an admittedly distinctly inferior Tromsø side in the Europa League in midweek.
This is not just a rich vein of form though. Eriksen was a creative hub for Ajax last season too, with an impressive assist return at the top level in the Champions League. In what was undeniably the toughest group, Eriksen picked up four assists against Emirates Marketing Project, Real Madrid and eventual finalists Borussia Dortmund, as his Ajax side pipped City to third spot.
Even though his side were eliminated in that round, only PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (7) and Dortmund’s Mario Götze (5) topped Eriksen’s assist tally. He announced himself on the European stage with a series of fine performances before proving against Norwich that he is up to the task in the Premier League, and he certainly looks like a fantastic move for anyone looking for a new Fantasy Football acquisition.
On Sunday, Spurs face a potentially tricky trip to Cardiff, who have already beaten Pellegrini’s City and held Everton to a goalless draw in the Welsh capital. However, with only Fulham (76) having allowed their opponents more attempts on goal in the Premier League this season than Cardiff (65), chances should come for the visitors.
Given that Spurs have had the most shots in the top flight (76) and their highest shot tally in a match this season came in Eriksen’s only appearance (23 vs Norwich), they should find space to shoot with some regularity this weekend.
Last week, Roberto Soldado looked more likely to score his first open play goal with Eriksen providing the chances, while Gylfi Sigurdsson really reaped the benefits, scoring both goals in the win.
Tottenham are odds-on favourites to pick up another three points this time out and keep up the pace at the top of the table, and if they manage it, the chances they create and goals they score are likely to have root in their new star man, Christian Eriksen.
-----------------------------------------
Great to see Eriksen getting good review everywhere. Hope he continues to improve. Apparently, Eriksen was the youngest player at the 2010 WC. Now after 3 years, he is more like a veteran in football. He looks very matured for his age.