"Tzolis?Arsenal didn’t splash €40m for fun, he's BETTER than Trossard” EXCLUSIVE with an ex-teammate

By Alessandro Schiavone

A former teammate of Christos Tzolis has backed the new Arsenal winger to come up trumps in English football.

Premier League champions Arsenal nipped in to nab the Greece international for £34m as a replacement for Besiktas-bound Leandro Trossard last week.

And the incoming Club Bruges starlet has what it takes to take centre stage in the Premier League thanks to his ambidexterity, ability to combine with teammates and knack for goals.

Tzolis made 40 goal contributions last term to help Bruges seal their 20th Jupiler Pro League title.

Those stats break down into 23 assists and 17 goals, a terrific return for a winger.

In an exclusive interview with Capital Football London, Standard Liège's Casper Nielsen said: “I know how good he is and people will see (that) he’s the perfect fit for the Premier League, one hundred per cent.

“People underrate how hard he works also. The way the Premier League is he will do well for sure.”

And he’s also far from being the ‘predictable’ inverted modern winger who loves to cut inside onto his favoured foot before letting fly.

The Dane added: “Christos can go out wide, he can go in transition, move around the pitch, combine, one-two… he has so many aspects in his game and his finishing is amazing with both feet. He’s just a good player.”

Arsenal’s Premier League triumph was largely driven by dead-ball prowess, with roughly 40% of Arsenal’s goals coming from stationary positions.

The tag 'Set-Piece FC' even ensued with rival fans having none of the Gunners' apparent uninspiring football.

Yet with more and more clubs calling on Premier League officials to crack down on jostling and shoving at corners, Mikel Arteta perhaps has to come up with more free-flowing play to retain the title.

And Tzolis is the perfect man for Arsenal to roll back the years and offer their fans a more swashbuckling footballing DNA.

In the Dane's mind he's also a clear upgrade on Trossard.

Asked what the main differences are between Trossard and the Greek, Nielsen said: “Tzolis is more effective, you can see his numbers also.

“And he’s more… when he gets around the box he can smell the goals.

“His stats talk for themselves… he can change games and that’s why they bought him.

“It’s not for fun that they put 40 million on the table so yeah good signing.”

The step up from the Belgian league to the world’s finest division will also appear seamless due to Tzolis’ previous experience in the Premier League with the Canaries back in 2021.

Fourteen appearances without a goal may not make for good reading, but Nielsen believes that five years on those passable displays will stand him in good stead now. He also played against the likes of Juventus, Atalanta, Marseille, Dortmund, Barcelona, Monaco and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League with the Belgian giants meaning he has an abundance of experience in the world's most prestigious competitions.

He said: “You have to remember: he played in the Premier League for Norwich so it’s not new for him.

“And he did well in the beginning for Norwich so he has some experience.

“He’ll be fine but of course everyone needs to adapt a little bit.

“But I’m pretty sure they will take care of him there. I saw he already scored in a friendly so good start for him.

“I spoke to him the other day: I just said congrats to him and everything. He’s a good friend, he’ll do it for sure.”