Christian Eriksen Explains the Importance of 'Instinct' Behind Tottenham's Excellent Form

Tottenham Hotspur maestro Christian Eriksen has spoken of the importance of having trust in his own instinct and the instinct of his teammates, putting that ahead of measurable statistics as a reason why Spurs are now among the Premier League's best.

Eriksen himself has little interest in numbers of goals, assists or chances created, telling the Independent: "It's mostly just in my head. I think everybody knows if they played a good or a bad game. From the outside it looks very different.

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"The most important thing is to try to do your best. And if that is a pass to someone, who then gets the assist, or creates something else, that should be the aim for every game," he added.

On trusting the instinct of his colleagues, the Dane said, "We've played so many games together, we know what we can expect from each other. You can expect the ball in behind from me. You can expect Dele to run. You can expect Harry to be ready for the second ball or the first ball."

"It's about recognising the players around you. Before you get the ball, knowing where your team-mates are. Or where the opposing players are. Then making and taking a decision really quick.

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"So it's really just instinct in the game. We have really instinctive players who take the decision really quick and in the game. That's the most important."

That level of understanding between all the Spurs players has seen them once more rise into the Premier League's top four this season, with a Champions League place for 2018/19 all but guaranteed after Arsenal and Chelsea have fallen out of contention.

One might think there is more to it, but Eriksen makes it sound so simple and easy. It isn't, but to him and the rest of the team, it is just instinct, pure and simple.

"It's literally just in the moment. You have the feeling that someone is open, your body shape is right, your first touch is right, and then you know you can go for it," he explained.

"Turning the right way might mean you have one more second to make a decision. And when you trust the guy to run it, it's really just putting the ball where he thinks it will be, where he thinks it will end up. Most of it is instinct."