Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank will have been left delighted by the creativity and bravery that his team showed in their 4-0 win over Copenhagen on Tuesday night.
The Lilywhites were down to ten men for most of the second half after Brennan Johnson was sent off, but managed to score another two goals after that.
They should have had a fifth goal late on when Richarlison stepped up from the penalty spot, only for the Brazil international’s effort to come crashing back off the woodwork.
Tottenham created more ‘big chances’ (eight) than they have in any other match in any competition in the 2025/26 campaign against the Danish side, which is why Frank should be incredibly pleased with his team’s display.
The former Brentford head coach will also be delighted with the continued form of central defender Micky van de Ven, who stepped up to score yet again.
No Spurs player has scored more goals than the former Wolfsburg star in all competitions this season (six) per Transfermarkt, which may draw some comparisons to a player from another team in North London.
How Micky van de Ven is becoming Tottenham's most important player
The Netherlands international is quickly becoming Tottenham’s most important player because of how crucial he is to the team both defensively and offensively.
Of course, as a centre-back, Van de Ven’s primary objective is to prevent the opposition from scoring. Spurs have only conceded eight goals in ten Premier League matches, with the Dutchman starting all ten games.
Per Sofascore, the left-footed defender has won 61% of his ground duels in the division, which speaks to his physical dominance on the deck, and that has played a part in the team’s impressive defensive record.
It would be impossible to speak about Van de Ven without mentioning his incredible goalscoring exploits, though, including his stunning goal in the win over Copenhagen.
As aforementioned, the Dutch star is the club’s top goalscorer in all competitions, which could draw comparison to Arsenal centre-back Gabriel, who has scored 22 goals for the Gunners in 226 matches, per Transfermarkt.
Micky van de Ven
3
Joe Rodon
2
Trevoh Chalobah
2
Gabriel
1
Nordi Mukiele
1
As you can see in the table above, Van de Ven is the top-scoring central defender in the Premier League so far this season, with two more goals than Gabriel.
These statistics show that he has been influential at both ends of the pitch for Spurs, which is why he is becoming Frank’s most important player.
However, whilst Van de Ven does share some similarities with Gabriel, there is another Tottenham central defender who could be Frank’s own version of the Arsenal star.
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18-year-old defender Luka Vuskovic is currently out on loan at Hamburg in the Bundesliga, and his performances this season suggest that he has the potential to be Tottenham’s own Gabriel in the future.
Why Luka Vuskovic can be Tottenham's own Gabriel
Like both Gabriel and Van de Ven, the Croatian youngster has shown that he can provide a threat as a goalscorer, with seven goals at club level in all competitions since the start of last season, per Sofascore.
On top of those competitive goals, the teenage starlet also scored for Spurs in pre-season against Reading earlier this year before his move to Hamburg on loan.
Vuskovic, who U23 scout Antonio Mango claimed is “turning into a Goal Machine”, has the potential to provide a regular threat at the top end of the pitch, as much as a centre-back can, for Tottenham in the future after his loan spell in Germany.
However, it is in his defensive work that he could be most like Gabriel for the Lilywhites, because he has been in phenomenal form as a defensive force for Hamburg in the Bundesliga so far this term.
Vuskovic’s performance against Union Berlin at the end of September was particularly eye-catching, as he set a Bundesliga record for aerial duels won in a game over the past decade.
For all of Van de Ven’s positive attributes, the Dutchman has lost 54% of his aerial duels and only won 1.3 aerial duels per game in the Premier League this season.
Meanwhile, Gabriel has won 60% of his aerial duels and won 3.3 per game, as a dominant player in the air, for Arsenal, per Sofascore, which suggests that the Brazilian has the beating of him in that area of the game.
Appearances
7
10
Sofascore rating
7.49
7.08
Clearances per game
9.7
3.4
Blocks per game
1.6
0.3
Ground duels won per game
2.4
1.9
Aerial duels won per game
6.9
1.3
Aerial duel success rate
86%
46%
As you can see in the table above, Vuskovic has been unbelievably dominant aerially in the Bundesliga in the 2025/26 campaign, and has outperformed Van de Ven in a host of defensive metrics.
This suggests that the Croatian defender has the potential to come in and offer even more to Spurs than the Dutchman as a centre-back, as he can carry as much of a threat offensively whilst being more effective defensively, particularly in the air.
Given how important Van de Ven currently is to Tottenham and Frank, this speaks to just how exciting Vuskovic is as a prospect for the club moving forward, as he has the potential to be their own version of Gabriel.
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