Arsenal have completed the signing of midfielder Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge.
The Greek international has joined on a long-term deal, with Arsenal not specifying the length of his contract, after the Belgian club accepted a £34million offer for his services.
He becomes Arsenal’s third signing of the summer after Piero Hincapie’s departure was made permanent and the Gunners signed back-up goalkeeper Illan Meslier.
Tzolis, who has played in the Premier League with Norwich City and has played for local club PAOK, Twente and Fortuna Dusseldorf, enjoyed a successful 2025-26 season with Brugge.
Indeed, Tzolis scored 17 goals and provided 23 assists and Brugge also won the Belgian Pro League title. He also scored two goals and registered one assist in helping Brugge reach the knockout round of the Champions League, where they lost to Atletico Madrid.
Tzolis will fill in at left-back following Leandro Trossard’s move to Besiktas, and is relishing the opportunity to play regularly at the Emirates Stadium, having made his Premier League debut at home to Arsenal.
“It’s amazing to sign for such a big club, the English champions. I’m very proud to be part of this team next season,” Tzolis told Arsenal.com.
“When my agent said it might be possible, I was already happy, then it became more difficult now that I’m here.
“I had a good conversation [with manager Mikel Arteta]. It was about an hour. We talked about everything, about the team, about me, about his plans, about me of course, about the team. It was only good things.
“I’m a direct player, I go for goals or help people. That’s my opinion as an attacking player, as a defender. I’m always hungry to score a goal or give my teammates the last pass. And I can say that I work hard for the team, and on the defensive side.”
“I can say a little bit that I know the level of the Premier League. I know it’s the best league in the world. Of course it’s different when you play for Norwich or Arsenal, I think you have more football as an Arsenal player. So we attack a lot of other teams.
“It disappears, the league and the level is very high, so I prepared for that. The Champions League is also very high, so I believe that every game is like a Champions League game here in the Premier League.”
Tzolis is determined to open Arsenal’s account after Brugge’s frustration
Tzolis played against Arsenal in the Champions League last season, but was unable to find the back of the net as Brugge suffered a 3-0 defeat.
He is now eager to open his account for the Gunners, who face Manchester City in the Community Shield on August 16 before taking on newly promoted Coventry City in their Premier League opener five days later.
“I love watching football, I know everything about the Premier League, I know everything about Arsenal,” added Tzolis. “I watched a lot of games this year especially when we were playing against each other and it was 0-3 in our stadium, I can say that it was the most difficult team to attack against that I have ever played for.
“We played with other big teams, but against Arsenal, we had a lot of difficulty to create clear chances. We had chances, but not clear. They worked very well and scored three amazing goals against us, it was a good result in the end.
“It’s amazing that I made my Premier League debut at the Emirates. I was saying this to my family the other day, it was a great memory. I loved the stadium. I’ve always said it’s one of the best stadiums I’ve played in. In the end we lost 1-0, but I really liked my debut so I’ll always remember playing here at the Emirates and looking forward.
“My goals are to win titles, of course. I think that for everyone my target is there, as many as possible. And to have more time to play with the team, something else will come, I am sure of that. So for me the most important thing is to settle well in the team, have a good feeling, play as often as possible and we will be very good, I believe.
“I’m proud to be part of this amazing team. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone on the pitch, on the pitch, and scoring my first goal at the Emirates.”
