HE laid waste to Irish World Cup dreams in Dublin on Tuesday night. And now Christian Eriksen can send Arsenal into a North London tailspin of despair this weekend.
Any doubts over whether Eriksen is the latest “Great Dane” were surely ended by the manner of his destruction of Martin O’Neill’s men in the Aviva. Finding time and space amid the maelstrom of Irish passion, the Spurs man orchestrated a humiliating thumping, three stunning strikes for an unforgettable hat-trick earning his country their trip to Russia. If Eriksen puts on the same sort of show at the Emirates on Saturday lunchtime, it may see more than a few Gooners feeling negative towards Dennis Bergkamp, after the Danish schemer credited the Dutch legend for being a formative influence on his own career.
As a youngster coming through the ranks at Ajax, Eriksen learned at the feet of the Dutch master. He recalled: “We did this passing drill, worked on certain movements, learning how to measure runs and then passing the ball to exactly the right place at exactly the right moment.
“Even then, you could always see Dennis’ charisma and confidence on the ball. He always knew how to take his first touch and where the ball needed to end up afterwards. “I learned a lot. It helped me when I made it through to the first team.” Eriksen has now graduated to the ranks of teachers himself and his Spurs team-mates will be looking to him to help earn only Tottenham’s second league win at Arsenal in 24 years. Midfielder Eric Dier agreed: “We’re seeing the best Christian Eriksen we’ve ever seen.
“He’s obviously coming very high on confidence now. He’s had a fantastic campaign for Denmark, not just in these two playoffs, but in the whole of qualifying. “It’s well deserved he got the hat-trick to get them through. It’s great for Tottenham he’s continuing to excel. Hopefully he can keep going.”
Wales defender Ben Davies added: “Chris is phenomenal for us. He dictates the play and gets us going. For me it is no surprise to see him scoring.
“He’s a player who deserves to be at a World Cup. I’m delighted for him.”
Eriksen’s Danish team-mate Nicklas Bendtner joined the love-in despite his Arsenal allegiences.
From The Sun
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