After a summer filled with speculations of a move away from Tottenham, Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen answered critics with a tremendous performance in an exciting north London Derby that ended 2-2 at Emirates Stadium.
The midfielder opened the scoring and knocked on Arsenal’s door several times, but a poor defensive performance from the back-line and an average show from the supporting cast in attack let him down.
Bar the goal, how did Eriksen fare in what was a rare start this season? We take a look:
Key statistics
Minutes: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Passes (success rate): 42 (83%)
Key-passes: 2
Shots (on target): 4 (4)
Dribbles: 0
Tackles won: 3
30-second report
Eriksen was Spurs’ best player and provided his team with an early lead by tapping in a slip-up from Arsenal custodian Bernd Leno. He troubled the Germany goalkeeper with some well-taken shots from outside the area, ensuring he was at full stretch on most occasions.
Eriksen also carried out his defensive duties very well, winning quite a few second balls in the heart of midfield. Going forward, he was Spurs’ most creative player as usual and engineered some very good passages of play.
Got right
YES CHRISTIAN!
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 1, 2019
🔴 #AFC 0-1 #THFC ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/PGJ7qEJ2mz
Right place at the right time
Scoring from an open goal often requires the ability to make the right run and arrive at the right position at the right time. Eriksen started the move ahead of his team’s first goal and made the run to score from Leno’s fumble at Erik Lamela’s shot.
Shooting
It was encouraging to see the 27-year-old not hold back whenever he found space just outside the penalty box. His shots were well-struck, well placed and required the best bit of goalkeeping from the Arsenal keeper.
Defensive duties
Eriksen recorded three successful tackles, two clearances and one interception. He was crucial to Spurs’ midfield domination in the first half, winning the loose balls and pushing the likes of Granit Xhaka out of the tie.
Son Heung-min squandered two counter-attacking opportunities that Eriksen set up after winning the ball against the run of play.
Got wrong
Dispossessed
Eriksen was dispossessed three times in crucial situations, with Arsenal starting a counter-attack on two of those occasions. While ball-carriers such as Eriksen need to take more risks with the ball at their feet, he could have chosen a better time to experiment than when the opponents were dominating in a crucial derby.
Summary
A top performance in a North London derby should count as a good apology letter after a summer of statements portraying Eriksen’s desire to leave. The Denmark international was on top of his game and reclaimed his spot as the creative hub of the Spurs attack.
This, in combination with a goal and some promising shots, should make a case for being one of his best derby performances in a while. There’s not much Eriksen could have done about not getting all three points for his team.
Rating: 8/10
