by Wenger that he can leave Arsenal. Despite leaving the club, Djourou reflected on his time at Arsenal, saying: "I loved him, first of all to have the chance to spend that time with him, for him to build me. He built many players but first of all he gave me the chance to express myself. I think what I liked about the boss was the way he handled every case, you would say it was similar but also so different." Loan to Hannover On 3 January 2013, Djourou confirmed that he was set to move to Bundesliga club Hannover on loan until the end of the season, with no option to buy included in the deal. He said, "I joined the club who wanted me the most. At my age, the priority is to play regularly. To do this, I did not hesitate to refuse offers with the most exclusive clubs who made important financial efforts." Djourou made his Hannover 96 debut, starting the whole game, in a 5–4 loss against Schalke 04 on 18 January 2013. Since joining the club, he quickly became a first team regular for the side, playing in the centre-back position. Djourou then helped Hannover 96 keep two consecutive clean sheets between 30 March 2013 and 7 April 2013 against FC Augsburg and VfB Stuttgart. This lasted until he tore his hamstring that saw him miss three matches. It wasn't until the last game of the season against Fortuna Düsseldorf when Djourou returned to the starting line-up and kept a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he went on to make sixteen appearances in all competitions. Following this, his time at Hannover 96 came to an end and he returned to his parent club. Hamburger SV On 1 July 2013, Djourou undertook a medical before signing for Bundesliga side Hamburger SV on loan for a season. It was reported that this time, the deal did include an option to buy. He said: "I'm very happy now that everything is sorted. HSV are a big club, with a lot of quality and great fans. I am convinced that this is the right step for my career." However, his start to his Hamburger SV's career suffered a setback when Djourou suffered a groin injury that saw him miss the first three league matches of the season. It wasn't until