Tottenham Hotspur hold all of the bragging rights over Arsenal this season, as they have done in recent years, with the Lilywhites looking on course to finish above their north London rivals once again.
Not only that, Mauricio Pochettino's side are still in the hunt for Premier League glory and are gearing up for a mouthwatering Champions League clash with Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have a less illustrious clash on their calendar as they're preparing for a Europa League double-header with BATE Borisov - with the Gunners playing on Thursdays for the second year in a row.
That is sure to give Spurs fans plenty to smile about and van der Vaart has ventured into the mix with a not-so-sly dig at Arsenal on social media.
Van der Vaart was a firm fans' favourite at White Hart Lane during two years with the club, scoring 28 goals in 77 appearances, including a couple of important North London Derby strikes.
And on social media today he has scored another impressive winner with the Tottenham fans.
Responding to the birthday messages he received, van der Vaart thanked fans for their support and shared one of his favourite goals from his career - which came against, you guessed it, Arsenal.
Van der Vaart also highlighted the return of the Champions League this week, tagging former clubs Ajax, Real Madrid and Tottenham, before signing off by saying: "wondering who's playing Thursday?"
There were plenty of Tottenham fans responding to van der Vaart's tweet. One called him a "hero", with another saying "love you Rafa".
