After a challenging period where Christian Eriksen found himself struggling for game time, the Danish midfielder has made a strong comeback to Manchester United’s starting lineup. Erik ten Hag has trusted Eriksen with a more prominent role, allowing him to start six of United’s last seven matches. This shift marks a significant change from the second half of last season, where Eriksen saw limited minutes on the pitch and had only played four minutes prior to the first international break of the current campaign.
Reflecting on his recent rise in playtime and how he feels physically and mentally, Eriksen shares insights into his current form and readiness to play consistently.
Christian Eriksen said, “Physically and football-wise, I’m fine. The talk when I came into the last [international] session with very few minutes was that it was a problem and now [it’s that] I may have almost played too many minutes. It has been great for me to get some minutes continuously, and get some flow, so that I am, again, a player who can play every three days. I don’t feel like a 32-year-old, understood in the sense that I don’t feel like I’m about to finish as a footballer. But, precisely because I am 32, people feel from the outside that you might be about to finish. And I think that is sometimes a bit misunderstood. So often age, as a number, is worse than what the player is. I think, there, you have to think about what type of player it is, what position they play and so on. It is of great importance. You have football experience and, of course, you also have the age but, if you still have the speed, quickness, running capacity and things like that, then I don’t think there is a big difference between being 32 or 29.”