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Tottenham suddenly have sufficient cover for Christian Eriksen

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 10: Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on February 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 10: Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on February 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham have real options behind Christian Eriksen

For most of Christian Eriksen’s career at Tottenham, the Spurs attack has fallen apart whenever he found himself on the bench. Now, Mauricio Pochettino has legitimate options for his Danish metronome in the middle of the pitch.

It can be argued that Pochettino has gone from zero to two realistic alternatives to play behind Eriksen in the number ten role within the past several weeks. That provides the Argentine gaffer more tactical flexibility than ever before.

The first option to cover for Eriksen’s absence emerged when Erik Lamela returned from his long injury absence. He plays the role much differently than his Danish teammate, but Lamela proved against Newport County that he can drive the Spurs attack when deployed just behind the striker.

Instead of opening up the defense with deft passes, Lamela opts to tirelessly run at the opposition. He’s still capable of picking out a clever pass, but it usually happens when the defense converges on him.

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If Pochettino doesn’t want to deploy his countryman in Eriksen’s stead, he can now turn to Lucas Moura instead. The talented Brazilian could find any game time at PSG, but he announced his arrival at Tottenham emphatically during his start at Rochdale. Lucas was the lone ray of sunshine on what was a very cloudy day for the Spurs attack.

Like Lamela, Lucas is also a much more selfish player than Eriksen. I don’t say that to disparage the Brazilian, but it is an accurate description of how he chooses to play the game. He possesses the courage to run at any defender at any time. The pressure he puts on opposing defenders is intense and constant.

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With all this being said, it’s not as if Tottenham want to put Eriksen on the bench very often. He’s still far and away the club’s best option to play centrally behind the striker. It is good news that Pochettino now has the choice to rest him upon occasion without seeing his entire attack fall apart. The arrival of Lucas and return of Lamela now give Pochettino the quality depth necessary to keep Eriksen fresh for an entire season.

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