Alan Shearer has surprised everyone by praising Mesut Özil, after Arsenal beat Tottenham in Saturday’s North London derby.

Arsenal won 2-0, and Özil was named man-of-the-match. He ran the show against the Gunners’ North London rivals. Alan Shearer is often critical of the German international, but on this occasion he chose to give the German some praise.

Ozil has been criticised in the big games. Often. And for not tracking back. But not today. He was man of the match. I thought he was absolutely superb,” he said, reports the Express.

It would’ve been difficult for anyone to deny how well Ozil had played on the day, and his assist probably helped as well.

The 29-year-old creates chances on a consistent basis, but it’s only when one of the other Arsenal players puts one of those away that pundits seem to notice the midfielder’s creative talents.

Özil putting in similar performances are the only way pundits will be convinced of his abilities, because none of the things he’s been saying in interviews and on social media have come close.

If anything, some ex-Arsenal players now seem to be even more set against him, after his comment about club legends supporting the team.

Hopefully we’ll see more of the same in the coming weeks and months, both in terms of Özil’s displays and also with regards to journalists and pundits admitting he might not be so bad after all.