Is Christian Eriksen Tottenham Hotspur's New Gareth Bale?

Tottenham Hotspur fans might be forgiven for reminiscing over Christian Eriksen’s recent heroics, having seen him salvage yet another dramatic victory at Swansea.

Spurs were largely outplayed by their hosts but somehow left the Liberty Stadium with all three points, as Eriksen followed up his assist of Harry Kane’s opener with a late winner.

Including another last-gasp strike at Hull, the Denmark star has now scored three goals in his last five Premier League games and six in total this season, evoking memories of Gareth Bale’s final campaign at White Hart Lane.

Smash-and-grab victories have become a habit for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, with Opta Stats highlighting the nature of their recent wins over Aston Villa, Hull and the Swans.

In fact, all but one of Spurs’ league triumphs this season have come via a one-goal margin, with their previous victory also ending 2-1, seeing off Everton despite enjoying just 39 percent of possession at White Hart Lane, as per BBC’s match stats.

Whether Spurs’ escapes should be considered great or just fortunate is up for discussion, as is how good Eriksen can be.

The 22-year-old has had his fair share of critics, including his own international manager, Morten Olsen, suggesting: “He is not playing for Ajax any more, he has not developed,” as reported by the Guardian following Denmark's 1-0 defeat to Portugal in a Euro 2016 qualifier.

He added: “If he was a player at a lower level, one could say that he has no class. But it is Christian Eriksen. We must be tough and say it to him. He must stand up to the criticism.”

He has also been substituted five times in the Premier League this season, including being hauled off at half-time against Aston Villa at the start of November.

Given his recent run of late winners, Pochettino might think twice about taking him off again.

Indeed, the real issue seems to be his utilization of the Dane.

For a fourth time in five matches, he started on the left wing to accommodate Roberto Soldado against the Swans and was predominantly ineffective, with his assist coming from a set piece and his goal from a central position.

Soldado had been replaced by Moussa Dembele at the time of that decisive strike, leaving Spurs with a five-man midfield, allowing Eriksen to operate with more freedom.  

If we look at Soccerbase’s stats, it becomes clear that only one of his goals have come while playing behind a front two, with five midfielders on the pitch in all of the other five occasions.

Andre Villas-Boas gave Bale a free role in his final campaign and reaped the rewards as he netted 21 times, including nine in Spurs’ 12 single-goal-margin wins.

The Premier League’s Fantasy Football stats give us a clearer indication as to how influential the Dane has been, rating him as the fifth best player in the league this season.

http://fantasy.premierleague.com

WhoScored.com provide us with further insight into how important he has been since arriving in August 2013.

For Spurs fans, desperate for a new hero since Bale’s departure, his moments of brilliance have served as an injection of hope, while also keeping them in touch with the top four.

The former Ajax man has a long way to go before being considered in the same vein as the world’s most expensive footballer, but he is certainly on the right track.

For Pochettino, the challenge now is to help his star man continue to flourish while utilizing the rest of the talent at his disposal.

With the increasingly impressive Harry Kane establishing himself as the first-choice front man, it may well be time for the Argentinian boss to cut his losses with Soldado.