Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has praised summer signing Granit Xhaka following his performance during Saturday's 3-1 win over Watford.
The 24-year-old's £34m move from Borussia Monchengladbach remains Arsenal's only major piece of business in the summer transfer window so far, although that is set to change with the imminent arrivals of Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez from Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna respectively.
Xhaka had the most impressive game of his fledgling Arsenal career at the base of midfield at Vicarage Road - a performance which led Wenger to compare the Switzerland international to Emmanuel Petit.
"He has a good engine, good stature, he is good in the air and has a good balance in his game, he has a good short ball and a good long ball. He is 24 years old, he has already experience abroad and that is always a problem and is more reassuring when a player has already played abroad somewhere. He was captain at his age at Monchengladbach, that is not a small club so he has leadership qualities," he told reporters.
"He is a guy who plays naturally behind the ball, he is a bit similar to Petit in the way he plays football. He likes to sit, give good long balls and be available with the centre-backs. I believe he has a good mixture of short and long balls, in midfield it is important for us to sometimes stretch the defenders.
"We have a game that is based on shorter passes than other teams so sometimes you have a player who can kick the longer ball gives us a chance to get some oxygen and some space. He has a big focus and I think he is mentally strong."
The arrivals of Mustafi and Lucas are expected to be confirmed in the next 24 hours.
Barney Corkhill
