Jack Wilshere has heaped praise on former Tottenham Hotspur star Christian Eriksen after he helped Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1 on Sunday.
The recently-retired footballer thinks Eriksen will be a ‘big player’ for Manchester United this season because ‘he has vision a lot of players haven’t got’, as he told Premier League Productions (04/09/22 at 7:15 pm).
Tottenham fans saw that passing range from Eriksen on a weekly basis when he used to don their colours, a topic that came up this summer.
The 30-year-old left Spurs for Inter Milan – then managed by Antonio Conte – in 2020, winning the Serie A title during his second season at the Italian club.
Eriksen then suffered an unfortunate collapse at Euro 2020, which ended his hopes of playing in Serie A again because, after his cardiac arrest, he is now wearing an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) – Italian law prevents any individual from playing sport if they are wearing that device.
That resulted in Eriksen becoming a free-agent, returning to action in the colours of Brentford in January, and then the big boys, including Tottenham, looking to sign him up this summer.
In the end, a return to north London didn’t materialise, instead, he headed towards Old Trafford, where Wilshere is seriously impressed by what he is seeing from the player.
“He has vision a lot of players haven’t got,” said Wilshere. “In the first few games, he was questioned because he was playing a little deeper.
“This is what he does give you (assist v Arsenal). It’s almost like a Carrick pass that one. He plays with his head up. Scans the pitch. He sees the picture before the ball comes to him.
“A lot of people give the credit for the pass before the assist and he will do that a lot this season. That is so hard to defend against and it also gives the backline a different problem.
“If he can keep himself fit and healthy, then he will be a big player for them.”
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIGHT
After losing their opening two games, Erik ten Hag’s side were on the floor and not even looking like a team that would challenge for those top-four spots, nevermind finish in them.
But four wins on the bounce has slightly changed the mood, even though there is a long time to go, as the battle for Champions League football could be jam-packed this term.
Manchester City and Liverpool have been the usual front two, whilst Chelsea have been the biggest spenders this summer, Brighton are punching well above their weight and Newcastle have been steaming through since Eddie Howe took charge.
Then there is the north London duo of Tottenham and Arsenal, who have been in an uplifting mood since the start of the summer transfer window.
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