Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Greece international Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge on a long-term contract.
The 24-year-old has agreed a five-year deal running until 2031 and will wear the number 17 shirt for the Premier League champions.
Arsenal are understood to have paid €40 million, around £34 million, in a deal which represents a record sale for a Belgian Pro League club.
Tzolis has already joined Mikel Arteta’s squad at the Sobha Realty Training Centre as preparations continue for the new campaign.
“It’s absolutely amazing to sign for such a big club,” Tzolis told Arsenal’s official website. “The champions of England. I’m very proud to be part of this team for the next season.”
The winger revealed that a lengthy conversation with Arteta helped convince him that Arsenal represented the right next step in his career.
“We talked about everything, about the club, about myself, about his plans, about me of course, about the team,” he said. “It was only positive things.”
Tzolis joins after producing 43 goals and 45 assists across 108 appearances during two hugely productive seasons with Club Brugge.
He registered 22 goals and 29 assists last term as Brugge won the Belgian title, while his performances earned him the Belgian Pro League Player of the Season award for the second successive campaign.
The former PAOK forward primarily operates from the left but can play across the attacking line, giving Arteta another versatile option alongside Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka.
Sporting director Andrea Berta described the new arrival as an excellent two-footed finisher who can operate in tight spaces and raise the technical level of Arsenal’s attack.
Tzolis also believes his direct approach will suit the Gunners.
“I go for goals or assists,” he said. “I’m always hungry to score or to give the final pass to my teammates.”
The transfer follows Leandro Trossard’s move to Besiktas and provides Arsenal with a younger replacement for the experienced Belgian.
Tzolis previously made 14 Premier League appearances for Norwich City after arriving in England as a teenager, but rebuilt his career during loan spells with FC Twente and Fortuna Dusseldorf.
He now returns as a more complete and confident player following three seasons of prolific form in Germany and Belgium.
His arrival is separate from Arsenal’s failed pursuit of Morgan Rogers, who subsequently completed a move to Chelsea, and the club could still target further attacking reinforcements.
For Tzolis, however, the immediate challenge will be translating his outstanding Belgian numbers into the Premier League as Arsenal prepare to defend their title.