Tottenham host Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday needing the three points not only to harm the Gunners' title chances, but also to keep their own Champions League hopes alive

Speed king Micky van de Ven could fast-track Spurs return to the Champions League.

Which is the least Darren Anderton believes the club deserves after their first season under Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs meet Arsenal this afternoon in a north London derby that could end up defining both clubs’ seasons. And the former England star has identified van de Ven as the key man to halt Arsenal’s title charge and re-energise Spurs’ push for a Champions League spot.

“I think he has the potential to be the best centre-back in the Premier League, he’s that good,” said Anderton. “He’s probably the one player Spurs have missed most when he has been out this season – that's the size of the impact he has made since coming here.

“It can take time for players to adapt to the Premier League but he has come in and made it look easy. He’s huge for us and for that defence because when he’s out (Cristian) Romero doesn’t look quite as assured alongside someone else.

“Yes, he has made the odd mistake. You saw that in the game against Newcastle, but generally I think he has been absolutely outstanding.

“And he’ll need to be on Sunday because this is an Arsenal side that can just cut through defences, as you saw against Chelsea on Tuesday night. But after the season they've had, missing out on the top four would feel like a real disappointment."

A win at home against their great rivals would give Spurs the ideal platform to attack the final few weeks of the season.

Their first campaign without their talisman, Harry Kane, who will be in action for Bayern Munich in this week’s Champions League semi-finals. His former club will be doing all they can to ensure they’re in the draw alongside him next season.

“Of course we miss Harry, we haven’t replaced him,” says Anderton. “Although the quality of the football we’ve played has been so much better and so much more entertaining, playing that style of football, there should be someone banging in a lot of goals as a centre-forward.

“But how do you replace someone like him? You can’t.

“We’ll see what Ange is given this summer to add to the squad and strengthen. It will be interesting to see where he spends that money. Richarlison has got a fantastic work ethic and has played very well at times this season but he’s not that striker who is going to score you 25 goals.

“There aren’t many out there that will but we play good enough and exciting enough attacking football to score more goals than we do.

“In the final third we look for the perfect goal at times instead of getting crosses or shots into the box. When I was in the final third, my first thought was to get a cross into the box.

“If you do that then your centre-forward is going to be on his toes, expecting that. We probably haven’t seen enough of that this season.

“Getting into that top four will have a huge bearing on who they get in this summer because all the top players want to play in the Champions League.”