Theo Walcott has been bigging up Mesut Ozil ahead of this weekend’s Premier League showdown against Manchester United.

The German, who still gets a lot of stick from people in the media who clearly never even watch him play, set Theo up with a delightful 40 yard pass against Stoke and with Walcott prepared to run in behind you just know that Mesut will find him.

Mesut Oezil of Londons runs with the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group F match between Dinamo Zagreb and Arsenal at Maksimir Stadium on September 16, 2015 in Zagreb, Croatia. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
How may I assist you? (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

“The first thing he does when he has the ball, in fact when he hasn’t even got the ball, is that he looks,” Walcott told Arsenal Player. “He looks first before he gets the ball and he knows where he’s going to play it before he’s even got it. That just shows the sort of quality we have in this team.

“Mesut’s involvement in the Stoke goal sums it up and also shows what he can do for this team. He makes football look easy and he’s a special player who has so many assists in his game.

“He can do it anywhere on the pitch, he’s a threat from anywhere and when you’ve got that in your dressing room you can build on it.

“I know what he’s going to do now when he’s got the ball, I just need to keep making those runs and hopefully we can get that relationship going.”

Ozil has three assists so far this season, all of them coming in the league while he has also created 32 chances in the league and Champions League (eight games) and played 29 key passes.

Averaging just over a shot per game in those two competitions, the German is clearly also looking to get on the scoresheet a little more but there is no denying that he gets his joy in football from making things happen for other people.

Walcott, on the other hand, has four goals in the eight games he has played in the league and Champions League, four key passes, five chances created, 29 shots in total and one assist.

[stats via Squawka]