Rafael van der Vaart has defended Fabio Vieira after a slow start to the midfielder's second spell with Hamburger SV, who sit a few points clear of relegation in the Bundesliga.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Fabio Vieira moved to Hamburger SV late in the summer transfer window, bringing to an end his time with Arsenal. Vieira had spent last season on loan with HSV, and he'd made enough of an impression that they wanted to bring him back.
But the permanent spell hasn't entirely gone to plan so far, with Vieira yet to score or assist a goal, and HSV losing two of his four games 5-0.
They did at least win the other two, but they sit 13th in the Bundesliga table, just two points clear of the relegation play-off place and three points clear of automatic relegation.
Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Even so, former HSV and Tottenham Hotspur player Rafael van der Vaart has leapt to Vieira's defence.
"He's obviously a great player," van der Vaart said. "But you should never compare him with me or other players. It's not about whether he's the best HSV player since van der Vaart or Barbarez. One must not forget that I had it easier than him.
"I also played badly more often than not. But we were a team that could handle that. We had a lot of big names and were among the top teams in the Bundesliga. When I was bad, others were good.
"I think that Fabio has it much harder than me. It's something different when you're playing against relegation with your team."
Photo by Selim Sudheimer/Getty Images
Saturday's game against VfB Stuttgart represents a good opportunity for Vieira and the team, taking on the team one spot above them in the table.
A win would allow HSV to leapfrog their opponents, whilst defeat would likely drop them down the standings, given their terrible goal difference.
Only relegation-zone sides Union Berlin and Borussia Monchengladbach have a worse goal difference than HSV right now, and there's only a goal or two in it.
Given Vieira's HSV contract has a sell-on clause in it, Arsenal will be hoping the player and his new team turn things around at some stage.
Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images