Arsenal executives tell Club Brugge president Tzolis is 'best in physical tests' after £34m signing's flying start

Arsenal executives have personally told Club Brugge president Bart Verhaeghe how impressed they are with Christos Tzolis, the £34 million winger who has gone straight into Mikel Arteta’s starting XI since joining from the Belgian club this summer.

Verhaeghe revealed the exchange took place at the Champions League draw, where Arsenal officials sought him out to pass on their admiration. “At the Champions League draw, I saw people from Arsenal and they showed a tremendous amount of respect,” Verhaeghe told Het Belang van Limburg. “‘What a player you’ve delivered’, they told me. They said he has an excellent attitude, is the best in the physical tests and is a great guy, too.”

Tzolis, 24, moved to the Emirates after two prolific seasons at Club Brugge in which he scored 43 goals. He has wasted no time justifying that fee, featuring in Arsenal’s Community Shield win and ranking among the standout performers during pre-season. Arteta has preferred the Greek international ahead of established options including Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke in the early weeks of the campaign.

The Arsenal head coach was quick to highlight what makes Tzolis such a natural fit. “He’s come into the team and really organically he’s fitted in,” Arteta said. “He’s a really intelligent boy, and he has a massive quality, which is that in the last 30 metres, he is so composed to pick people out in and around the box or to finish.”

The move represents a significant step up for Tzolis, whose previous stint in English football ended in relegation with Norwich City before successive loan spells helped him rebuild his career in Belgium. Verhaeghe credited Club Brugge’s deliberate strategy of developing players for Europe’s elite as the reason they are now supplying clubs of Arsenal’s calibre.

“We were the innovators from day one, and we’ll keep innovating,” the president said. “Today, we’re selling players to Arsenal and Inter Milan, two teams that have reached the Champions League final in the last two years.”

With Gabriel Martinelli having departed the club, Tzolis appears to have inherited a key role on Arsenal’s left flank and, on early evidence, shows little sign of relinquishing it.