Tottenham are set to welcome Arsenal in a mouthwatering North London derby.
It is the North London derby weekend, and all talk has been centred around it.
Tottenham Hotspur will aim to dent Arsenal’s title hopes under their new interim boss, Igor Tudor. The Lilywhites have had an extended break, with Thomas Frank sacked after their 2-1 loss to Newcastle at home. The boys should be motivated to perform against their rivals under the new boss, and a derby victory could go a long way to save the campaign.
However, Igor Tudor will not have a full squad to select from against the Gunners. He has 12 players ruled out of the fixture. Skipper Cristian Romero is suspended for his red card in the defeat to Manchester United, and in his absence, the role of Micky van de Ven grows bigger.
Tottenham’s standout performer in an otherwise torrid campaign, Micky van de Ven, has maintained high performance levels and excelled alongside Romero in defence. That has ignited fear within the White Hart Lane faithful that the Netherlands could move on in the near future amid interest from top European clubs, especially with Spurs enduring back-to-back terrible domestic campaigns.
Ray Parlour reveals where Micky van de Ven would fit in at Arsenal
Micky van de Ven has established himself as a mainstay for Tottenham since arriving from VfL Wolfsburg in 2023. He has been rated as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, alongside the likes of Virgil van Dijk, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi.
Thus, it is not surprising that the 24-year-old has been attracting interest from several top European clubs ahead of the summer transfer window. Ahead of Sunday’s clash, Arsenal great Ray Parlour revealed the Dutchman’s starting role if he crossed the North London divide.
When talkSPORT presenter Shebahn Aherne asked Parlour whether he would take any Tottenham players, the former defender named Van de Ven as their best player, but he is not in favour of splitting up the rock-solid partnership of Gabriel and Saliba. So, he would rather have Van de Ven at left-back at Arsenal.
Shebahn Aherne (SA): “How many of the Spurs players would get into the Arsenal team? Would you put any of them in?”
Ray Parlour (RP): “I think their best player is Van de Ven.”
SA: “Could you find him a spot? I wouldn’t split up [William] Saliba and Gabriel, so maybe left-back?”
RP: “You wouldn’t want to split them. He could go in at left-back, yes.”
There are no doubts about Gabriel and Saliba being the most dominant centre-half partnership in the last two Premier League seasons, and as anticipated, Parlour or any Arsenal fan would want to break the partnership in favour of Tottenham’s Van de Ven. Of course, that doesn’t bother Spurs fans because they would want to have Van de Ven every time in their team ahead of the Arsenal centre-backs.
Come Sunday, our Dutch talent must produce a top display to help Spurs keep a clean sheet, and if the chance presents at the other end, make his presence felt with a goal.