On the latest The View From the Lane podcast, Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Maw and Charlie Eccleshare have been reacting to Sunday’s 2-1 win against north London rivals Arsenal.
One topic of conversation in the recent episode, which was titled: ‘North London Derby – Reaction‘, was the team’s perceived lack of creativity since the restart, and how that can perhaps be attributed to the loss of Christian Eriksen. The Danish midfielder contributed 69 goals and 89 assists in 305 appearances for the Lilywhites (per Transfermarkt) before leaving to join Inter in the January transfer window.
Here’s what Maw had to say about Spurs’ ‘problem’ of no longer having the 28-year-old in their side, particularly in games where they dominate possession:
“They’re a little bit ponderous when they have a lot of the ball and that is a problem they need to solve because they’re clearly missing someone like Eriksen who creates a lot of chances for other players. You know, particularly without Dele Alli in the team as well, that’s clearly been a big problem.”
TIF Thoughts…
Considering in Spurs’ previous game against relegation-threatened Bournemouth, they were unable to muster a single shot on target, we can understand Maw’s point that Spurs are lacking someone of Eriksen’s obvious creative quality. Last season, the former Ajax man contributed eight goals and 12 assists in the English top-flight (per Whoscored), and unfortunately for Lilywhites supporters, the man who was perhaps brought in as his replacement, Giovani Lo Celso, is yet to register a single goal or assist in 25 appearances in the Premier League (per WhoScored).
Are Spurs missing Eriksen's creativeness?
Yes
No
However, Spurs did manage nine shots on target against the Gunners on Sunday, which suggests that they can still be creative, even without the likes of Eriksen and Alli in their side.