Why Christian Eriksen’s Manchester United Player of the Month is well deserved

Christian Eriksen has been named Manchester United’s Player of the Month for September 2022 in only his second month of competitive action for the club.

The Dane has been an integral part of Erik Ten Hag’s side since his arrival on a free transfer from Brentford, and consistent good performances have allowed him to win the award ahead of teammates Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho. Varane earned 10% of the votes on the official club app, with Sancho clocking up 28% himself, but neither could compare to Eriksen who can boast an impressive 62%.

The 30-year-old has flourished in a deeper midfield role where he operates more as a box-to-box midfielder rather than an attacking one. Speaking to Danish outlet Politiken only a few days ago, the midfielder said, “In recent matches, I have played as an 8, and it suits me very well”.

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Reds fans will agree with him, too, with himself and Scott McTominay forming a good partnership in the midfield. Many have put McTominay’s recent upsurge in form down to the arrival of Casemiro, but it could simply be down to the fact he has a better midfield partner in Eriksen. Fred, who has partnered McTominay for a couple of years now, has barely had a sniff of action since Eriksen arrived.

The Player of the Month put in a solid showing away at Leicester City at the beginning of September that was quickly followed up by a fantastic display at home to Arsenal, with United earning third and fourth consecutive league wins. The 3-1 win over Arsenal was arguably the no.14’s best performance in a red shirt so far; after transitioning the ball from deep for Marcus Rashford’s first goal of the afternoon, he unselfishly set up the Englishman for a second with a squared pass to seal the points for his side.

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Fans will not forget his two showings in Europe, either. United visibly lost the ability to probe in the final third when Eriksen came off at halftime against Real Sociedad on matchday one. Matchday two of the Europa League then saw him assist fellow nominee Sancho to score the opener in Chisinau. Plenty of man of the match awards are coming his way, and rightfully so.

Positively, Eriksen follows Lisandro Martinez in winning the award, which means that two new signings have won Player of the Month on back-to-back occasions.

Congratulations to Eriksen and long may these classy performances continue.