Micky van de Ven has revealed what he noticed about the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during the North London derby on Sunday.
There has been a disconnect between the Tottenham fan base and the club over recent months, and that has often reflected in the atmosphere at N17.
This Spurs side has been regularly booed off the pitch by the supporters, who are not happy with the style of football they have seen.
However, with Thomas Frank leaving the club and Igor Tudor coming in, there was more optimism ahead of the North London derby, and that was reflected by the atmosphere at the stadium.
Micky van de Ven admits it is a ‘tough situation’ for Tottenham fans
Ven de Ven himself has had run-ins with some supporters this season, but the Dutchman admitted that the fans got right behind the team for the entire 90 minutes on Sunday.
The centre-back, who wore the captain’s armband for the derby, revealed that the players were disappointed not to give something back to the fans for their efforts.
Van de Ven told the club’s official website: “The fans were unbelievable today, and I have to give credit to them for the full 90 minutes. I know it’s also a really tough situation for them, but they kept standing behind us today.
“It was really important for us, and I think we felt it as well. We wanted to do everything to give them something back but, but unfortunately, we couldn’t do that today.”
Van de Ven insists Spurs ‘didn’t play really bad’ against Arsenal
Reflecting on the 90 minutes, the 24-year-old admitted that the result was tough to take after battling as well as the home side did in the first period.
However, he confessed that Arsenal’s second goal early in the second half provided a succer punch for the Lilywhites.
Micky added: “It was a really tough game. I think in the first half we were going into half-time with 1-1, and I think there’s a good feeling from our side. Obviously, we suffered again, didn’t play really bad, but then we came out in the second half, they scored after two minutes and after that it was really tough.”