Shooooooooooooot!!!

It's been a while since the Gunners had a man who could mix it in midfield and have a pop from distance. Strap in... Granit's here.

- Ben Welch

Granit Xhaka is on the edge of the centre circle, bouncing on his tiptoes. He receives a pass infield from Mohamed Elneny and pushes the ball into the open space in front of him.

With the game all but over at 3-1 in stoppage time, and with Hull City’s defence retreating, Xhaka gets to within 35 yards of goal and chooses to break with an Arsenal tradition. Instead of passing, he lets rip. The ball hurtles through the Humberside air, past Eldin Jakupovic and into the net.

The Arsenal faithful celebrate a meaningless fourth goal at the KCOM Stadium as if it’s a last-minute winner. At long last, they have a player who is willing to give the ball a good old-fashioned wallop.

FourFourTwo recounts the fierce September strike to Xhaka as we sit down for a chat in the Hertfordshire countryside. “I didn’t only score against Hull; I also scored three days later,” he reminds us.

That he did, thronking one home from an even greater distance to open the scoring in a 4-0 League Cup win at Nottingham Forest. With two stunning long-range net-busters to his name, Xhaka has set the bar high – and now the Arsenal supporters are expectant.

“Every time I get the ball, I hear them screaming for me to hit it,” he says with a laugh. “Even when I’m on the halfway line I can hear them calling for me to have a shot. But that’s a bit too far out.”

These two thunderbolts have been the standout moments of his embryonic Arsenal career, but there’s plenty more to Granit Xhaka than a cannon of a left foot. Underneath his clean-cut appearance is a young man bristling with ambition, confidence – and aggression. Step out of line and he’ll set you straight, as FFT soon discovers...

Firstly, the midfielder wants to address his reputation as a hothead, and the disciplinary record that reached British shores before he did.