Christian Eriksen - The most underrated player in the Premier League
When we talk about Tottenham Hotspur, the first player which comes to our mind is Harry Kane. The England international has been lethal in front of goal and has been ranked among the elite strikers of Europe.
Though, there is another player who does his job quietly and has been a top performer for his side. We are talking about Christian Eriksen.
The Denmark international joined Spurs from Ajax in August 2013, for a reported fee of £11.5 million. Since then, the youngest player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been a consistent performer for Tottenham Hotspur.
The 25-year old attacking midfielder has made 140 Premier League appearances for Spurs. He has registered 33 goals and provided 40 assists in these appearances.
Comparing his stats with some of the other prolific attacking midfielders (who have played a minimum 140 games) in the Premier league like Mesut Özil (Arsenal), Juan Mata (Manchester United) and Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton), we can see the midfielder is certainly on the same level (if not above) as them.
Tottenham's 2013-14 and 2016-17 player of the season has scored 33 goals in the Premier League (0.24 Goals per match), out of which 19 came from his right foot, 12 came from his left foot and one was headed in.
He has scored 6 of these goals from free-kicks. The midfielder has provided 40 assists in his 140 appearances (0.29 assists per match), and has created 46 big chances in his 140 appearances, making it 0.32 big chances per match.
Coming to Arsenal’s Mesut Özil, who has made 121 Premier League appearances since his arrival from Real Madrid. He has scored 23 goals (0.19 Goals per match) in the Premier League, out of which 16 came from his left foot, 4 came from his right foot and 3 were headed in.
He has scored 1 of these goals from free-kicks. The Germany International has provided 42 assists in his 121 appearances (0.34 assists per match), and has created 51 big chances in his 121 appearances, making it 0.42 big chances per game.
Meanwhile, Juan Mata has made 199 Premier League appearances (82 for Chelsea and 117 for Manchester United), and has scored 45 goals in the Premier League (0.23 goals per match), out of which 37 came from his left foot, 6 came from his right foot and there were 2 headed goals.
He has scored 6 of these goals from free-kicks. The Spain International has provided 43 assists in his 199 appearances (0.21 assists per match), and has created 56 big chances in his 199 appearances, making it 0.28 big chances per game.
Whereas, Gylfi Sigurdsson who joined Everton this season for a reported fee of £11.5 million has made 187 Premier League appearances (124 for Swansea City, 58 for Tottenham and 5 for Everton), and has scored 42 goals in the Premier League (0.22 Goals per match), out of which 30 came from his right foot, 10 came from his right foot and there were 2 headed goals.
He has scored 7 of these goals from free-kicks. The Iceland International has provided 33 assists in his 187 appearances (0.18 assists per match), and has created 47 big chances in his 187 appearances, making it 0.25 big chances per game.
Coming to the defensive side, Eriksen has tackle success percentage of 80%, which is higher than Özil's 75%, Sigurdsson's 72% and Mata's 74%. Eriksen has made 79 clearances and has been involved in 729 recoveries.
On the other hand, Özil has made 28 clearances and has been involved in 539 recoveries. Sigurdsson has made 96 clearances and has been involved in 601 recoveries. Whereas, Mata has made 51 clearances and has been involved in 891 recoveries.
So, Eriksen is ostensibly a player who is good with both feet, can create/score goals and help in defensive aspects as well. Shouldn’t we give him more respect and rate him among the best midfielders of the world?
Note: Data has been compiled up-to matchday 6 of the Premier League 2017-18.