Damning Christos Tzolis stat emerges after five Premier League games
Christos Tzolis’ first few performances in an Arsenal shirt generated plenty of excitement.
He was impressive in pre-season and carried that form into the Community Shield and then the Premier League. His early performances, particularly at home, suggested Arsenal had found a clever, low-cost addition who could provide width and creativity on the left.
He works his socks off and has four assists to his name. But after five Premier League games, another stat shows a clear weakness in his game. It raises questions about whether Arsenal’s only attacking signing from the summer is actually capable of carrying the burden that has been placed on him.
Christos Tzolis has only completed one successful dribble
Tzolis has completed just one successful dribble from six attempts in the Premier League this season. Across all competitions, it is even worse — one from ten. Dress it up all you like. For a winger signed for £34million, that is a damning return.
Now to be fair to Tzolis, he works extremely hard. His pressing is diligent, he does the defensive basics and he even has four assists to his name. He’s obviously not a bad player.
But he is flawed. He often struggles to beat his man, he rarely goes on the outside, and he doesn’t really get into shooting positions.
The reality is that Tzolis was signed to be a backup option. The club signed him with the view that he was a low-risk addition that could be a good squad option, and that a marquee winger would follow. Obviously, Morgan Rogers went to Chelsea, Vinicius stayed at Real Madrid, and no marquee winger arrived at the Emirates. Suddenly, Tzolis is being asked to carry a burden he was never supposed to carry.
Compare his profile to what Manchester City have in wide areas — Jeremy Doku, Antoine Semenyo, Iliman Ndiaye. All capable of beating a man, creating from nothing and changing a game. The gulf is night and day.
Brighton wasn’t his fault — everyone was poor. But we’ve seen enough of him now to notice the flaws. Tzolis has value as an option in home games and can be a useful impact substitute. But Arsenal need another solution on the left. One successful dribble in ten games is not a top-quality winger. It’s a problem.