Huddersfield manager David Wagner praised Mesut Özil over the weekend, highlighting the German international’s defensive improvements.

Focusing on how Özil’s defensive work was lacking, or he didn’t track back enough, has become a standard criticism from pundits who don’t have anything better to say.

However, Wagner spoke on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday to highlight the exact opposite. “He’s top quality, he’s a top-quality player,” he said, reports Daily Star.

“Everybody knows to give him the ball and give him a little bit of space and something will happen. Final pass, the pass before the final pass, or goals; this is Mesut.

“He adapted in defending in the last year, he’s a top-quality player. He can make something happen when he has the ball.”

Most fans who watch the former Real Madrid man for 90 minutes will agree he has improved defensively over the past year, particularly when compared to his fellow forwards. Other than Danny Welbeck, none of the other forward players tend to track back much.

Against Newcastle at the weekend, only Laurent Koscielny made more tackles than Özil for Arsenal, despite the World Cup winner creating twice as many chances as any of his teammates, and scoring a world class volley of his own.

Koscielny was also the only outfield starter for Arsenal to be dispossessed less than the German was on the day (bearing in mind the Frenchman shouldn’t be taking risks as a centre-back), so Özil was a success all over the pitch.

In this form, it’s not hard to see why the Arsenal fans get so excited when there’s even a hint that the playmaker will sign a new deal. For now, we’ll just have to wait a little longer, and try to enjoy the top quality performances on the pitch without thinking about that expiring contract.