Rudiger was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, first sending Arsenal's Jurriën Timber crashing to the ground during a corner kick, and later stepping on Myles Lewis-Skelly's stomach while he was down.

Van der Vaart and Theo Janssen discussed the incident on Ziggo Sport, with Janssen kicking things off: 'With Rüdiger, we all think that when he stands on him, it is a deliberate action.'

After seeing the footage, Janssen confirmed: 'Yes, this is a deliberate action. I think he can jump over him.'

Van der Vaart then shared a story from his past: 'He played for Stuttgart when I played in Germany. He hit me in the stomach and got a red card. Yeah, you know, he's a bit of an idiot!'

Van der Vaart added: 'As long as you win it’s all fun and games, but when you lose it looks completely different.'

Janssen also recalled Rudiger's past encounters with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland: 'He kept hanging on him, jumping and committing fouls. With that he completely played Haaland out of the game for two matches. He also has something.'