Christoph Zimmermann has backed his former Norwich City teammate Christos Tzolis to fulfil his potential at Arsenal.
The Greek winger has completed a reported £34m switch to The Emirates from Club Brugge, just two years after leaving Carrow Road, and is now preparing for his second taste of Premier League football.
Tzolis, 24, struggled to make an impact in yellow and green following his £8.8m move from PAOK in the summer of 2021, featuring 30 times and scoring three goals.
He shared a dressing room with Zimmermann during the 2021/22 campaign, with the former City defender admitting he always recognised the talent Tzolis possessed, even if he never envisaged the path his career would take.
“You could see what he brought and the attributes he was going to add to the group that we didn’t have before,” the German said in an interview with Hayters.
Christos Tzolis and Milot Rashica arrived in an attempt to fill the void left by Emi Buendia (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)
“I think after the promotion, we were trying to somehow replace Emi (Buendia). We tried with Milot Rashica and Christos Tzolis to get wingers in. Not the same sort of player, but players who could probably deliver in terms of numbers, assists and goals.
“So yes, you could see the potential. You could see why we wanted to sign him or why we did. But it would be way too easy for me to say now that you could always see he was going to play for Arsenal and one of the top teams in the Premier League one day.
“I’m not going there because, at the time, not too many of us would have seen that coming. But what you always must take into consideration is his age, the experience and what it all teaches you. Living abroad and playing in those sorts of leagues, then afterwards playing in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
“It all adds up to your quality in the end, and it’s probably just taken those couple of extra years to get him that move to Arsenal. But potential-wise, you could definitely understand why we signed him.
“I think Norwich fans saw a glimpse of what he was able to do in that cup game against Bournemouth. But the rest is now to come, not for Norwich fans so much but for people following the Premier League.”
Christos Tzolis scored twice in Norwich City’s 6-0 Carabao Cup victory over Bournemouth (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)
Relocating to a new country is challenging enough before factoring in the pressure of a major transfer fee and adapting to the world’s toughest league at just 19. Having made the move abroad himself, Zimmermann understands the adjustment required.
“I think what helped him was having Dimi Giannoulis in the team as well. He had a fellow Greek to help him settle in because Dimi had already been there. I think he signed about half a year earlier and got promoted with us.
“When I signed, I was 24, and there were a lot of Germans at the time, so that made settling in easier, plus the Championship compared to the Premier League.
“If you try to imagine yourself in his situation, being 19 years old, away from home and coming to the best league in the world, there are probably expectations on you because you’ve been signed just two days before the league starts, probably in the hope of giving you a little bit of what you’d been lacking in pre-season.
“So there are hopes on the shoulders of a 19-year-old. I think the price tag was around £10 million, so there’s a bit of anticipation around him. Going back to when I was 19, I think it would have been a really big ask for me to fulfil that expectation,” continued the German U15 national team assistant manager.
Christoph Zimmermann admitted having a strong German contingent helped him settle into life at Norwich (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)
“He did need some time to settle into English football, and in that year, we didn’t fully see his potential. We didn’t fully see what he’s capable of doing, and he needed some time to develop.
“But as footballers, we keep developing. As people and personalities, we keep developing. I think the spells he had in between (Norwich and Brugge) did really (help him) make a big step forward towards becoming the player that’s now being signed by Arsenal and will have a second go in the Premier League.
“He’s probably now at a bit better a team than back then, so I’m very curious to see what sort of impact he can really make and if he can now bring the potential that you could see five years ago but also present it on the pitch in England.”