Club Brugge drop Tzolis from friendly to protect £34m Arsenal transfer

Christos Tzolis has been omitted from Club Brugge’s pre-season friendly against Herenveen on Friday evening as the Belgian club moves to protect the 24-year-old’s £34 million switch to Arsenal. Greek journalist Dimitris Manakos confirmed the decision, with Tzolis now expected to travel to London for a medical on Sunday or Monday.

Arsenal and Club Brugge have agreed a £34m fee for the Greek international winger, as Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen his attacking options ahead of the Gunners’ Premier League title defence. The move carries added urgency following Leandro Trossard’s departure to Besiktas, which has left Arsenal short of cover on the left flank.

Tzolis had already sat out Brugge’s opening pre-season fixture, a 4-2 win over Kortrijk at the start of July, though he did feature — and score — in the club’s 3-1 defeat to Feyenoord six days ago. Wearing the captain’s armband, the winger opened the scoring with a curling strike into the top corner, drifting in from the left before whipping the ball past the goalkeeper.

The 24-year-old arrives having made a significant impact in the Belgian top flight, contributing 22 goals and 29 assists across 52 Pro League appearances for Brugge. His addition would give Arteta a direct, technically capable option on the wing as Arsenal seek to go one better in Europe after their penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s Champions League final.

Tzolis is not the only business Arsenal have conducted this summer. Defender Piero Hincapie joined permanently from Bayer Leverkusen for £34.5m, converting his loan arrangement into a full transfer, while goalkeeper Illan Meslier completed a move from Leeds United to provide competition between the posts.

Arteta is expected to continue strengthening the squad beyond Tzolis’s arrival. Morgan Rogers, Julian Alvarez, and Eli Junior-Kroupi have all been mentioned as potential targets as Arsenal look to build depth across their attacking line.