The 23-year-old Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has become a shadow of his former self.
As Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham side fumbled their way to a 3-0 loss at Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, Christian Eriksen suffered another off-day.
The Dane’s off-days are more noticeable than most. Partly because the midfield man is usually scoring a late winner for Spurs. Partly because, when Eriksen has an off-day, he goes missing completely.
The 23-year-old is undoubtedly a fine technical player – and a superb player for Tottenham.
Eriksen is a talisman. He wins games, scores goals and produces moments of magic. Except not really in 2015.
| 2015 | Goals Openplay | Assists Openplay | Appearances | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Kane | 7 | 1 | 10 | 884 |
| Nacer Chadli | 2 | 2 | 10 | 578 |
| Christian Eriksen | 1 | 1 | 10 | 844 |
| Ryan Mason | 1 | 1 | 8 | 570 |
| Danny Rose | 1 | 2 | 9 | 784 |
| Nabil Bentaleb | 0 | 2 | 7 | 630 |
Indeed, as Opta stats show, if you take Eriksen’s free-kicks away, he has scored just once and registered one assist for Tottenham since the New Year – a far cry from the game-changer he was before January.
The frightening statistic equates to the fact that Danny Rose, Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason have all had an equal or bigger impact on the north London side’s goalscoring tally from open play.
| 2015 | Passing Accuracy | Appearances | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paulinho | 91% | 5 | 138 |
| Mousa Dembélé | 90% | 10 | 618 |
| Ryan Mason | 85% | 8 | 570 |
| Benjamin Stambouli | 85% | 5 | 184 |
| Etienne Capoue | 85% | 1 | 21 |
| Nacer Chadli | 85% | 10 | 578 |
| Christian Eriksen | 81% | 10 | 844 |
In terms of his passing, meanwhile, the 23-year-old boasts Tottenham’s eighth-worst accuracy of 2015, meaning 12 of his team-mates rank higher (granted, Paulinho, Benjamin Stambouli and Etienne Capoue are outliers as they have played so little).
And the nail in the coffin…
| 2015 | Dispossessed | Appearances | Mins Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Eriksen | 28 | 10 | 844 |
| Harry Kane | 25 | 10 | 884 |
| Nacer Chadli | 20 | 10 | 578 |
| Mousa Dembélé | 19 | 10 | 618 |
| Andros Townsend | 13 | 7 | 370 |
| Erik Lamela | 12 | 6 | 396 |
Eriksen has been dispossessed more times than any other Spurs player in 2015. For context, the Dane has played more minutes and, clearly, him losing the ball more is also a sign of him being far more proactive than some of his team-mates.
But Harry Kane, his nearest competitor for this unwanted title, suffered a huge chunk of his dispossessions against Manchester United, meaning Eriksen has been losing the ball more consistently.
Either way, if you feel the stats don’t quite add up, the Dane’s form paints a clear picture. As wonderful a talent he is, the midfielder has gone off the boil since the New Year. And Tottenham need him back at his best if they are to salvage anything tangible from their season.
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