Granit Xhaka shows off a stunning new haircut as the former Arsenal star makes the most of the festive downtime by hitting the ski slopes with his family.

Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has debuted his new haircut as he relaxes on the ski slopes with his family over the festive period.

The Swiss star has been a pillar of the impressive Bayer Leverkusen, who continue to go from strength to strength under Xabi Alonso.

Last season, the German team went on a 51-game unbeaten streak, defeating Bayern Munich to win the Bundesliga title and DFB Pokal.

They currently sit just four points behind Vincent Kompany's Bavarian side in the league, having lost just one game this campaign, and sit in fourth place in the Champions League with 13 points from six games.

Xhaka, 32, is enjoying something of an Indian summer in his career, playing 25 games in all competitions in which he dominated the midfield and provided five assists.

This holiday season he's decided it's time to start over, but fortunately for Leverkusen fans, the only thing that's disappearing is his hair.

Granit Xhaka has revealed her new shaved haircut in a touching Instagram post

During the holidays he enjoys a ski trip with his wife and two children.

The Leverkusen star has been an ever-present this season as his team rose to second place.

The Swiss international debuted a new look on the ski slopes in a touching Instagram post that shows him enjoying a holiday with his family.

Xhaka can be seen with his wife Leonita Lekaj and their two children sporting a shaved head, in stark contrast to his loose locks of yesteryear.

They are represented sitting on a thick bed of snow with the two young men dressed in matching clothes.

In another, Xhaka walks away from the camera holding one child in his arms and the other by the hand and reveals that the back of his head is also completely shaved.

The December 28 post has the title: “Family time is the best time.”

Xhaka has proven to be an inspirational captain for Leverkusen and, in an incendiary interview earlier this season, the former Arsenal midfielder was furious at the draw against Wolfsburg and called on the team to “be honest with each other” about their current form. .

“We don't need to talk about stoppage time here,” Xhaka said, without being asked, according to BILD. 'We need to be honest with each other, self-critical enough: This is not enough!

“It can't be that we concede three goals in every game. Especially the way we concede goals.

Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen were unbeaten in 51 games last year and are also playing well this season

The Swiss international made 297 appearances for Arsenal in seven years in north London.

“It's not that the opponent disrupts us, they combine very well and then score the goals.

The thing is that we don't run the races well enough.

'We consider ourselves a top-level team. But a great team doesn't concede three goals in 45 minutes!'

Xhaka is currently enjoying a long winter break, and the next match against Borussia Dortmund on January 10 will take place five and a half weeks after his last match: a 1-0 win against Bayern to qualify for the DFB Pokal .