The 22-year-old came through the Gunners' academy but his first senior match at Ashburton Grove could be in the black and amber of Hull City on Saturday.

Only could, because his education has often featured harsh lessons.

En route to East Yorkshire were loans at Lincoln City, Rotherham United, Coventry City, Millwall, then a permanent move to Serie A Genoa.

It tested his hunger and taught him skills he can use now as he looks to oust club captain Lewie Coyle or fan favourite Ryan Giles from one of the full-back positions.

At Rotherham in the 2022-23 Championship survival was the overarching aim, just as it is for Hull in the Premier League now.

"I went from Rotherham struggling against relegation to the play-off final, so it was a funny season," says Norton-Cuffy, who did so well at the New York Stadium that Coventry stole him away mid-season.

"Rotherham wasn't the prettiest football but it was not conceding, digging deep, a test of character. It's really cold, the training pitches weren't great, they were getting waterlogged sometimes.

"It's how badly do you want it.

"It was the same on the pitch, you had to dig deep and grind out the 1-0s. On the ball, I felt the wing-backs were just isolated.

"I learned off the ball to be in a unit, really dig deep and suffer for a little bit, and on the ball try and create something and be a maverick.

"At Lincoln, I struggled for the first two weeks. I went from academy to men's football. I got a T-shirt and shorts in the middle of December. I asked the kit man for a thermal, he's gone, 'You're not at Arsenal now!'

"I struggled with the pace and intensity so I started doing extra gym sessions, extra with the coaches after training, little things.

"Then when I got my first start, it just kind of flourished."

Maybe that was what made Norton-Cuffy so fearless when his first permanent transfer took him to Genoa in 2024.

Since the Heysel ban was lifted, British footballers abroad have been rare, but there seems to be a growing willingness for the current generation to look overseas for first-team football.

"I feel like when I speak to some of my friends they don't want to go abroad whatsoever. I've never really seen it as going abroad, just playing football," argues Norton-Cuffy.

"It's not like it's 10, 12 hours to get back to my family, it's a two-hour plane journey. It's like living in Hull now – you have to drive four hours.

"You see a lot of boys playing under-21s for top academies and they struggle because they might go to a National League or League Two side not used to playing football and when you don't have a good loan, you have to drop down a level again.

"I think (overseas) clubs are realising the talent in England. There's a lot of boys who played in academies with me who could play in certain teams in Serie A and flourish."

If stereotypes about English footballers abroad are fraying, an important Serie A one remains strong.

"Tactically, defensively, staying switched on, Italy is known for being one of the best defensive leagues in the world and you really do see that in training," he argues.

"After my first year, I was getting doubled and tripled up on a lot, so it was how do I work out that, how do I still be a threat?"

Ask what is different about the Premier League compared to Serie A, and the words he reaches for are tempo, pace and intensity. He could mean life in general.

"I'm from London,” he says. “London's hectic. Hull's more like Genoa, it's more laid back, people will sit down and have a chat with you.

"When I first went over there, there was a bit of a culture shock. I'm going into a supermarket and I got an old granny speaking to the cashier for 25 minutes and I'm standing behind her waiting.

"At first I was fuming but it happened again and again. You learn to just relax a little bit and enjoy life."

If Hull is more chilled as a city, their football cannot be in the Premier League. Like so many of the Tigers' new signings, Norton-Cuffy has had to adapt.

"It's a different intensity," he argues. "And it's the stuff that people don't really see, like staying in a hotel, trying to find a house, trying to move your stuff from abroad.

"I feel settled now, I feel I'm fit, I'm in a good position to really kick on."

The right-footer's full debut came playing left-back at Fulham in Hull's worst performance of the season.

"The team played badly, I played badly, but it was a good moment for me," he says. "A learning moment."

And he knows all about them.