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Arsenal pre-season## New Arsenal signing Christos Tzolis can make his Arsenal debut in a behind-closed-doors friendly
06:00, 25 Jul 2026
Christos Tzolis is preparing to make his Arsenal debut for the club with the player already joining up for pre-season. The Greek international signed a five-year deal with the Gunners that sees his stay last until at least 2031.
The £34million move was sanctioned to bring one of Europe’s leading goal contributors after getting 22 goals and 29 assists last season for Club Brugge. He will get the chance to show his teammates what he can do in pre-season with games against Girona, Real Betis, Borussia Dortmund, and Como to come.
The first match kicks off in Spain on August 1, but before that football.london understands and broke news that Arsenal will play a behind-closed-doors friendly before heading off for their official pre-season matches. The identity of the opponent and date of the game has not been revealed, however, the Gunners have typically faced lower league opposition sides at their Sobha Realty Training Centre.
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Tzolis could be joined by many of his new teammates, but has yet to meet several high-profile stars who have only just embarked on their holidays because of participation at the World Cup. This rules them out of any potential friendly before next month.
Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke all reached the semi-finals with England, as did William Saliba with France, although it has been confirmed that the Frenchman will be undergoing an extended period of recovery for a back injury. David Raya, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino became world champions and will return at the latest possible date.
There will be plenty of youngsters involved, including Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman, Marli Salmon and Myles Lewis-Skelly, barring any fitness concerns of their own. While there will also be some players available to use whose futures could yet lie elsewhere: Reiss Nelson, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira.
One player pushing to be involved this summer is Ben White, who returned from an injury and said that the situation was “all good” when asked by club media on the first day back. Jurrien Timber, however is continuing to undergo further rehabilitation after a minor groin operation.
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Tzolis could be joined by the only other new signing of the summer, goalkeeper Illan Meslier. The Frenchman signed as a free agent after leaving Leeds United.
Potential Arsenal XI for behind-closed-doors friendly: Meslier; Salmon, White, Mosquera, Calafiori; Lewis-Skelly, Dowman, Nwaneri; Nelson, Jesus, Tzolis
Tom Canton
Tom Canton
Tom Canton joined football.london as the Arsenal Fan Brand Writer and Presenter before becoming a permanent Arsenal Reporter in 2025. Tom produces plenty of analytical content in addition to breaking stories and is a regular attendee at matches and press conferences. Can also be found on YouTube @TheGoonerTalkTV
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