Arsenal are close to doing a deal to sign Christos Tzolis as they ramp up their summer transfer spending with the World Cup nearly at an end.
The Gunners are keen on strengthening their entire squad this summer after winning the Premier League title and Tzolis is expected be one of many new faces who arrive this summer.
The 24-year-old Greek international is expected to seal a move worth around £33m in the coming weeks.
Tzolis gives Mikel Arteta further strength down the left-hand side and after Leandro Trossard signed for Besiktas, it’s filled an immediate void.
Interestingly though, Tzolis is also something of a set-piece whizz and looking at the stats from Opta, it’s clear why Arsenal have made their move.
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Christos Tzolis could make Arsenal even more lethal from set-pieces
If there’s one thing we all know about this Arsenal team, it’s that set-pieces have been one of the biggest weapons.
Last season saw the Gunners score 36 times from set-plays over all competitions and the 27 scored from corners was a team high across Europe’s top five leagues.
And while Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were instrumental with their delivery for these goals, it seems Tzolis is only going to further improve this.
According to Opta, Tzolis created a huge 52 chances for Club Brugge last season from set-pieces alone.
That puts him well above the stats of Rice and Saka combined.
Interestingly though, it was Arsenal’s proficiency at getting on the end of these set-plays that stands out.
Club Brugge did score 13 goals from set-pieces themselves, but when you look at the fact Tzolis created 52 chances himself this way, the metric isn’t as high as it could be.
Still, should Tzolis produce the same sort of delivery for Arsenal as he has over in Belgium, then the Gunners should, in theory, reap the rewards.
The likes of Gabriel, William Saliba and Kai Havertz will be rubbing their hands really.
And in the end, it might well be that Tzolis is one of the most integral signings Arsenal have made in recent history.
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