'What a player': Arsenal delighted after signing £34m star, club president reveals
Arsenal were thrilled at signing Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, according to the Belgian club’s president Bart Verhaeghe.
The Greece international joined the Gunners in a £34 million deal this summer, and he has already proved a fantastic acquisition.
The 24-year-old has registered three assists during his first four appearances and looks to have cemented the left-wing position.
In an interview with Het Nieuwsblad (page 20), Verhaeghe said that Brugge made the right decision to keep Tzolis last year.
They eventually sold him to Arsenal this summer. Verhaeghe revealed how excited the Gunners are with the signing of the 24-year-old.
Verhaeghe said: “That was the plan. If they are intelligent guys, they look beyond the day-to-day frenzy of the transfer market. Last year, we insisted that Tzolis stay. By this summer, he was ready.
“And then, at the Champions League draw, I met people from Arsenal who showed a huge amount of respect. ‘What a player you’ve produced,’ they told me. ‘Excellent mentality, the best in the physical tests, and a really great guy, too.”
Tzolis has proved a fantastic acquisition for Arsenal
The Greek had a phenomenal 2025/26 season with Brugge. He registered an impressive tally of 22 goals and 29 assists from 52 appearances across all competitions.
This included three goal contributions in the Champions League, but questions remained about whether he could adapt to the higher intensity and physicality of English football.
Tzolis struggled as a teenager with Norwich City but has made a bright start at the Gunners and has barely put a foot wrong, barring the away encounter at Aston Villa.
He registered a couple of assists against Manchester City in the Community Shield before creating two crucial chances during the league opener against Coventry City.
The left winger had a genuine reality check at Villa Park but made amends in the 2-1 comeback win over Chelsea, providing the assist for Martin Odegaard’s second-half winner.
Hence, we can say that Tzolis has already exceeded expectations, and that was much required for the Gunners, having brought in just one winger to replace Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.
Eberechi Eze has been playing as a makeshift option on the left flank this campaign, and the Englishman currently appears as the direct competitor to Tzolis for the attacking role.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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