Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Eriksen insists “emotions” got the better of Eric Dier in the aftermath of his equalising goal against Arsenal on Sunday.
Dier, 24, pegged the Gunners back in one of the most fiercely competitive north London derbies in recent years, glancing a header past Bernd Leno in the 30th minute before rushing off and shushing the Arsenal fans in celebration, which resulted in a touchline tussle.
How did the brawl unfold? Five things to know…
- Arsenal were 1-0 up when Dier scored in the first half.
- Dier celebrated in front of the Arsenal fans before Stephan Lichtsteiner confronted the England midfielder.
- This resulted in a scuffle on the touchline with players, substitutes and members of both team’s coaching staff getting involved.
- But Eriksen believes Dier did not mean to incite the brawl, instead just responding to Gunners fans who had given him stick throughout the match.
- Harry Kane put Spurs 2-1 up minutes later, but Arsenal scored three goals in the second-half to win 4-2.
Stewards were forced to intervene in an effort to break up the brawl, but tempers remained hot throughout the match, and both sides have since been charged by the FA.
However, Eriksen – who was taking part in his 12th north London derby – has played down the significance of the altercation, believing it was simply a result of the passion on display at the Emirates.
“Sometimes it just takes over, sometimes you take your shirt off and get a yellow card but Eric did this,” the Dane told Sky Sports. “It’s always different and he didn’t run to the fans, he just shushed them because they had been a bit against him.
“We were playing at their place so the crowd was against us in general, but afterwards it went a bit overheated in some way, and then you know how much is at stake.”
Eriksen also backed Dier, insisting the midfielder only intended to make a statement with his celebration and not start the brawl.
He added: “It felt like more than an intense derby because of how the game evolved and how the game went on the pitch, and the atmosphere.
“You don’t want to act up to get into a fight, that’s not what anyone wanted, or Eric, but sometimes it happens when you are working with emotions.
“It’s a hard balance. It’s the same going into a tackle, you don’t want to hurt a player – you might do it, but it’s not your intention. This was the same. He didn’t go in to hurt anyone, but he just wanted to make a statement and afterwards it just turned a bit upside down.”
Mesut Ozil or Christian Eriksen?
Leading up to highly-anticipated encounters of the magnitude of a north London derby, fans are often embroiled in deliberation about which star players rank ahead of each other.
One of the more controversial debates that has proven to significantly polarise opinion, is the Eriksen vs. Ozil argument, with many fans split between which playmaker is better.
This season the former Germany international sits ahead of his Danish counterpart in the goalscorer department, scoring three Premier League goals with a shot conversion rate of 75%, while Eriksen is yet to find the back of the net.
However, the Spurs N0.23 places above Ozil in terms of chances created, registering five assists to Ozil’s one, creating 22 chances to the German’s 20, and also making more passes into the final third (74) than the Arsenal talisman (64).
That being said, Ozil has completed more passes overall (477 to 450), has a higher passing accuracy (86.37% to 82.89%) and has completed more dribbles (10 to 2).
Spurs next face Southampton on Wednesday while Arsenal take on Manchester United.
READ MORE: We asked five writers: would you rather have Christian Eriksen of Mesut Ozil in your team?
The post Dier didn’t mean to start North London derby brawl – Eriksen appeared first on Squawka News.
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