One former Tottenham Hotspur player has now admitted the biggest mistake of his career was leaving north London.
Tottenham find themselves chasing Champions League qualification over their remaining six games in the Premier League this season.
However, Ange Postecoglou‘s side will have to do it the hard way if they are to finish in the top four with some seriously difficult games coming up.
Aston Villa’s recent form has meant there is no margin for error from Tottenham with Spurs needing to win both of their games in hand to leapfrog Unai Emery’s side.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be bouncing on the weekend when their local rivals come to town.
And it is apparent one former player massively misses those moments in front of the Spurs crowd and feels his decision to leave was a major mistake.
Tottenham have seen some big names feature for them over the years and some of them have flourished in the North London Derby.
But one, in particular, really enjoyed silencing the Arsenal fans when he had the opportunity to find the back of the net.
Former Spurs player admits his big mistake in deciding to leave the club
Over the summer, Daniel Levy sanctioned the sale of Tottenham’s record goalscorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
It was a move which was supposed to see the England captain end his trophy drought but it has far from been that simple.
Kane has enjoyed a stunning individual season during his first season out in Germany, but Bayern have seen their Bundesliga crown slip.
The former Spurs striker did, however, help Bayern eliminate Arsenal out of the Champions League recently as that remains their final hope of silverware this season.
Another player who had a big influence on games against Arsenal was Rafael van der Vaart who joined Tottenham from Real Madrid back in 2010.
However, the Dutchman did not last long in north London as he departed just two years later to rejoin Hamburg.
With the North London Derby approaching, the former Spurs man spoke to the club’s website about his regrets in leaving the club.
“I left too soon, and I still regret that, it was the worst decision I ever made, but that’s how it is,” he said.
“I always said that when I went on the pitch, I gave everything I had, and I wanted to give the people something special. I tried to do that. I had some good days, some bad days – that’s football – but what I can say to the fans is that I always played with so much pride for this team. I always say this was the most special time of my career.”
Rafael van der Vaart shares what he was told about Arsenal after joining Spurs
Signing the Dutchman from Real Madrid was a massive coup for Spurs and he was a player who had a big impact on the club’s development into a Champions League calibre side.
And he absolutely loved a goal against Arsenal. The midfielder managed to find the back of the net four times against the Gunners during his brief spell at Tottenham.
Here is a summary of Van der Vaart’s spell in north London.
Statistics via Transfermarkt.
Speaking about what he was first told about the North London Derby when he joined Tottenham, Van der Vaart added: “I was told, ‘Rafa, there is one game, and this is it, if you do well in this game, you’ll live forever here’. I kept that in my mind.
“At the end of the day, I didn’t grow up here, but then you notice on the streets how it means so much.”