Who is Christos Tzolis? Meet Arsenal's new set-piece star who lit up Champions League with Club Brugge

Even before the World Cup was completed, Arsenal had begun to make moves in shoring up their roster for the coming campaign.

Following a successful season where the Gunners won the Premier League title — their first since 2004 — and also reached the Champions League final, they now must make sure their squad is in the best possible shape to carry on into the 2026/27 season.

One of those positions is on the left wing, where Leandro Trossard played a significant role in the title chase. Now 31 years old, Trossard enjoyed a strong performance at the World Cup this past summer, but his six goals and six assists in Premier League play weren't quite enough for the over 2,000 minutes he logged.

With Gabriel Martinelli also struggling to provide consistent production, reinforcements were required, especially after Trossard left for Besiktas.

The Sporting News brings you a look at new Arsenal signing Christos Tzolis, who will compete on the left with Martinelli and perhaps prove to be an upgrade on Trossard.

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Who is Christos Tzolis?

Twenty-four-year-old Christos Tzolis began his football career at his boyhood club PAOK in Thessaloniki, Greece.

After making 57 appearances for the Super League club, he was sold to English side Norwich City for a reported €11 million ($12.5m) fee. He spent one season with the Canaries, making 30 appearances and scoring three goals, but would be loaned out after that, first to Dutch side FC Twente and again to German club Fortuna Dusseldorf.

The second spell proved to be much more fruitful, as he would join Dusseldorf permanently on a deal worth just €3.5m ($4m), and he would score 24 goals in just 37 appearances for the German club. This caught the eye of Belgian giants Club Brugge, who he joined in the summer of 2024 for €6.5m ($7.4m), allowing Dusseldorf to double their investment in a year.

It was at Club Brugge that Tzolis truly broke out. He has made 108 appearances across the last two seasons, scoring 43 goals and assisting 45. He would make his Champions League debut with Club Brugge, appearing 21 times in Europe's top competition, scoring three goals and assisting four more. In the 2024/25 season, he assisted knockout-stage goals against Atalanta and Aston Villa, and this past campaign he scored against Atletico Madrid.

How much did Arsenal pay for Christos Tzolis?

Arsenal have paid approximately £34 million (€39.8m/$45.7m) for Tzolis, according to a report by ESPN.

He signed a five-year contract with Arsenal upon joining.

What position to Christos Tzolis play?

Tzolis is a left winger, signed as a direct replacement for Trossard, who joined Turkish club Besiktas this summer after a strong performance at the World Cup.

He can also play up top as a striker, as a No. 10, or flip sides to the right wing.

Tzolis is also known as an exceptional corner and free-kick taker. He created 52 chances from set-pieces last season for Club Brugge. To compare, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice — known as two of the best in the Premier League — combined to create 39 chances from dead-ball situations.

Christos Tzolis stats for Club Brugge

How do you pronounce Christos Tzolis?

Because Christos Tzolis is Greek, his name has a bit of a difficult pronunciation for English speakers.

His first name Christos is pronounced closer to "KREES-tos" rather than "CHRIS-tos".

For his last name, the T is silent, meaning it is pronounced "ZOH-lis".