Arsenal have announced the signing of striker Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge on a five-year contract.
The fee is expected to be £34 million, a record for the Belgian professional league.
The 24-year-old, formerly of Norwich City, scored 17 goals and provided 23 assists in 36 league games last season.
Sky Sports News understands that Morgan Rogers was named as the club’s main attacking target, but the England international instead made a British record move to London rivals Chelsea for £117 million.
Tsolis was signed to replace Leandro Trossard, who moved to Besiktas for £17 million.
Tsolis played against Arsenal in the Champions League last season.
Analysis: Why Tsolis is the ideal replacement for Trossard
Sam Blitz from Sky Sports:
Tsolis arrives as Trossard’s direct replacement. A closer look at Tsolis’ profile reveals many similarities between the two players.
The first is the profile. According to those who know him, the Greek striker is a striker, but like Trossard, he is also a number ten. Last summer, Crystal Palace were firmly eyeing Tsolis as a replacement for current Arsenal star Eberechi Eze.
Tsolis is primarily a left winger, but can also play as a number 10.
“He’s capable of playing different roles,” Ike Milkon said. Sky Sportwho was assistant coach of Club Brugge throughout Tsolis’s stay in Belgium until February of this year.
“Coming from the left flank – giving him space to start wide and then find moments to penetrate more inside – that’s where he is strongest.
“If he’s tasked with playing really wide to get one-on-one, he’s capable of doing that. But he is always stronger the closer he is to the goal. Whenever he is in the middle, you can expect him to attack the space at any time.”
Another similarity between Tsolis and Trossard is their accessibility. Trossard had an exemplary injury record at Arsenal, being injured in just four matches in three and a half years. All four of those games came in his final season in north London.
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Meanwhile, Tsolis achieved a similar result at Club Brugge. The maximum time he ever spent on the sidelines for the Belgian club was two matches, despite being one of the most energetic and intense players in the team.
“He’s a guy who works hard,” Milcon adds. “In the game he runs a lot of kilometers, but also at high speeds and sprint distances.
“Anyone can do this once a week. He did it every three or four days in the Champions League. And his performances remained consistent.”
The final comparison between Trossard and Tzolis is the easy temperament born of the desire to win. Arteta once affectionately called Trossard “a bit of a whiner” at Arsenal due to his constant complaints in training and to the referees.
And what, according to his former coach, is one of the main areas of development for Tsolis? “Emotional stability,” Milkon says.
Read Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz’s full report on Christos Tsolis here…
Arsenal’s first five matches of the Premier League season
August 21: Coventry (H), live on Sky Sports, kicks off at 8pm.
August 31: Aston Villa (A), live on Sky Sports, kicks off at 8pm.
September 6: Chelsea (H), live on Sky Sports, kicks off at 4:30 p.m.
September 12: Sunderland (A), starts at 20:00.
September 19: Brighton (A), starts at 15:00.