Arsenal Legend Warns Tottenham to Sign Up Key Midfielder Before Contract Issues Develop

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson has heaped praise on Tottenham's Christian Eriksen, ahead of the north London derby on Sunday, even comparing him to Manchester United legend Paul Scholes. 

Merson insisted that Eriksen is Tottenham's main threat, and if Arsenal are to get a result it will be largely due to keeping the Dane quiet. 

Eriksen has been a creative force for Spurs this season, laying on four goals for his teammates in the league while also scoring the winning goal against Inter in midweek to keep his side's Champions League hopes alive. 

"I think Eriksen is the club’s best player and most of this Spurs team-mates would probably agree," Merson wrote in his column for the Daily Star. "I’ve always been a big fan of his. He reminds me of Paul Scholes. They could both play the ball through the eye of a needle but they have similar personalities as well.

"Eriksen just plays the game, goes home and gets on with life. He’s unassuming. He’s not in the headlines for the wrong reasons. He doesn’t even look like a footballer really, does he? If you saw him walking down the street and didn’t know who he was, you wouldn’t think 'footballer' straight away...but what a player."

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"I just think he makes things happen for Tottenham. He’s a massively important player for them.

Harry Kane gets all the plaudits, and rightly so. But as a centre-forward you’re only as good as the service you get. No service, no goals. And there aren’t many players in the league better than Eriksen at creating chances. That’s why they can’t let his contract run down."

Eriksen's contract runs out at the end of next season, which could see some of Europe's biggest clubs circling in the near future.