Former Arsenal man gushes over Tottenham star as ‘pure strength and desire’ earns him third-best tag | OneFootball

Former Arsenal man Theo Walcott has hailed the “pure strength and desire” of a Tottenham man who was one of the best players in the league during the last gameweek.

Spurs got back to winning ways with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday. The north London club netted twice in the first half and once just before full-time.

The two first-half goals were courtesy of centre-back Micky van de Ven.

The centre-back found himself in great positions in the box twice to head home from set pieces, outmuscling Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford with ease to glance past him for the second.

That goal and the physical attributes needed to score it earned Van de Ven rave reviews from former Toffees and Arsenal man Walcott.

He said on BBC Match of the Day: “It’s all about delivery, but Van de Ven puts himself in a position behind, and it’s pure strength and desire to win it.

“You can see here that he’s isolating himself from Jack Grealish, and his mindset is just to disrupt the goalkeeper without doing too much.

“I think that’s important, not to do too much to make it obvious. It’s a good goal, it’s a fantastic finish.”

Tottenham centre-back Van de Ven has earned his plaudits after the game, in which he became the first Spurs defender to score twice since Jan Vertonghen in 2013.

Gary Neville suggested adding goals to his game – five now this season – can only help Tottenham, and the ratings have also shown how good Van de Ven performed.

WhoScored post a team of the week for a number of leagues, and in the Premier League over the weekend, Van de Ven was the third highest-rated player.

Indeed, his 8.94 match rating was bettered only by Bryan Mbeumo (9.16) and Zian Flemming (9.4.)

Both of those men also scored braces as their respective sides – Manchester United and Burnley – won.

Tottenham round-up: Greenwood return?

TEAMtalk is aware that Tottenham are among the Premier League sides watching Mason Greenwood ahead of a potential return to England.

West Ham are in the same boat, while LaLiga club Barcelona are believed to be leading the race for him.

Meanwhile, with it believes Spurs boss Thomas Frank doesn’t fancy striker Dominic Solanke, Fabio Paratici is reported to be sizing up Porto striker Samu Aghehowa.