Two players who once contested the North London Derby had differing experiences in Hamburg’s 3-3 draw with Stuttgart.
Heard the one about the player on loan from Arsenal who ended up having to thank an old foe for saving his embarrassment?
Johan Djourou and Rafael van der Vaart are teammates at Bundesliga club Hamburg, who have suffered a nightmare start to the season.
Despite possessing a talented squad, they sit in 15th place in the 18-team league, with just nine points from nine games, one place above the relegation zone.
One of those points was picked up on Sunday in the eventful 3-3 draw with eighth placed Stuttgart, an end-to-end entertaining encounter for the neutral.
Arsenal’s loanee Djourou had a moment to forget in the 64th minute, as he attempted to cut out a cross an accidentally diverted it into his own goal.
He only had to dwell on it for a short period, as three minutes later Hamburg captain Rafael van der Vaart popped up to strike home an equaliser.
Sadly for Djourou, any Arsenal fans watching his mix-up will not be cursing their decision to pack the Swiss international off to Germany for the season.
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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