
The situation at Tottenham's home is truly dramatic and the derby defeat against Arsenal has plunged the team to just 4 points above the relegation zone. Another false step would have set off the alarm and not even the arrival of Igor Tudor on the bench has managed to steer the fate of a team that for the second year in a row is among the bottom of the standings. But there is one detail of the new coach that has not gone unnoticed by the fans: throughout the match the Croatian has sought to give instructions from the touchline, but has almost always been ignored.
A video of him from behind asking van de Ven to step up and lift the team has gone viral on social media, but the defender barely looks at him and continues to do what he wants (as the positioning data at the end shows). His London adventure is not off to a good start and the new group is still getting used to him, having been chosen to replace Thomas Frank with a contract until the end of this season.
The 4-1 suffered by Arsenal is a tough but predictable result, given that the two Londoners are at opposite ends of the table, with the Gunners on their way to winning the title after a 20-year wait. Nor has Tudor's arrival shaken up the team, which does not seem to be responding well to the new coach's instructions: during the derby an almost paradoxical situation emerged, with the former Juventus player giving commands from the bench, but no player willing to follow them.
In particular he insisted on van de Ven pushing forward and taking Spurs off the pressure, but the defender saw him several times always choosing to act according to his own mind.
Igor Tudor is constantly shouting at Micky van de Ven, telling the back-line to "push up!" #COYS #THFC pic.twitter.com/KpBsZZTYjV
— Chris Cowlin (@ChrisCowlin) February 22, 2026
The footage went viral because Tudor shouted insistently without ever being followed by the Dutchman, who in addition to being one of the closest players to him on the pitch, is also Tottenham's captain in these matches. The coach made signs, tried to shout and in the end gave up almost in surprise in front of the rubber wall erected by his own players.
"They are good players with bad habits," he admitted at the press conference before a bitter truth escaped him: "I know the truth about this team, now I have seen the truth. It is not pretty, but that is how it is."