Arsenal’s first outfield signing of the summer is Christos Tzolis.
The left-winger was Club Brugge’s best player last season and was arguably the biggest reason why they won the Belgian league title.
Arsenal liked what they saw of Tzolis and signed him without even negotiating the fee they were quoted by Brugge.
That shows the confidence they have in the Greece international, but he is already a part of an unwanted list of players Mikel Arteta has signed at Arsenal.
How many goals and assists will Christos Tzolis end his debut season at Arsenal with?
He scored 22 goals and provided 29 assists last season👀
Christos Tzolis joins unwanted Arsenal list of signings made by Mikel Arteta
Arteta has got most of his signings right during his time at Arsenal, but he has missed the mark on a few occasions.
If you asked a fan to name a few, we’re sure Willian and Raheem Sterling’s names would be high on the list, but there is another set of players with a common theme.
Arteta has signed nine players from outside Europe’s top five leagues over the years: Pablo Mari, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner, Marquinhos, Jurrien Timber, Viktor Gyokeres and now, Christos Tzolis.
Among those names, Timber has been a huge hit, while an argument can also be made that Gyokeres did his job in his debut season by helping Arsenal win the Premier League.
The rest? The less said about them, the better.
Tzolis now has that shadow over his head, having arrived from Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge in a £34 million deal this summer.
The talent and ability are definitely there, and he clearly suits the way Arteta wants his wingers to play. But the Premier League is a massive step up compared to other leagues, especially those outside Europe’s top five.
That is what made life difficult for almost all the names on the above list, and Tzolis will almost certainly feel the difficulty as well.
Hit or miss: Where will Christos Tzolis rank on Mikel Arteta’s list of players signed from outside Europe’s top-five leagues?
However, the one positive for the Greek star is that he has played in the Premier League before with Norwich City, and that gives him an edge over the other players listed above.
It remains to be seen if that will help his adaptation and make him a better signing for Arsenal than six players on that nine-man list who are widely viewed as flops.
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