Arsene Wenger has described Theo Walcott as ‘one of the best in the world’ ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Tottenham, reports the Daily Mirror.

The Arsenal boss has lavished praise on the England forward ahead of his 200^th Premier League appearance, insisting there are few better at timing runs and receiving the ball in dangerous positions.

Walcott will face Tottenham for the first time since he suffered a horror injury against the same opposition that kept him ruled out of action for 12 months.

He is likely to face a hostile reception at White Hart Lane, having responded to the taunts from Spurs fans that day with a reminder of the 2-0 score line.

But Wenger is convinced his fit again forward is ready to rise to the occasion, and has predicted he will have a big part to play in the remainder of Arsenal’s season, having seen him score in his last two appearances against Brighton and Aston Villa.

Wenger said: “Theo’s first quality is the quality of his reception. The timing of his runs, and the area of where he gets the ball.

“The timing and the movement is absolutely exceptional - one of the best in the world, with the timing of his movement and where he goes. When I say quality of receptions, it’s the area where he will get the ball.

“In that, he is certainly top, top, top, because he has the pace behind it as well. I think he is not completely there yet. It’s normal because he’s been out for a year but you can see week after week, he gets better.

“I think just before he was injured, he was the best Theo I have ever seen. He had a good balance between being physical, using his pace, and the quality of his finishing had improved tremendously.

“When he scored the goal on Sunday against Villa, you can see he’s a great finisher now.”