Christos Tzolis impressed his Arsenal teammates with his penalty-taking skills ahead of the FA Community Shield clash with Manchester City
Mikel Arteta could have found a gem in Christos Tzolis ahead of Arsenal's title defence
Mikel Arteta could have found a gem in Christos Tzolis ahead of Arsenal's title defence(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
View Image
Christos Tzolis wants to begin his Arsenal career with a trophy ahead of the FA Community Shield clash with Manchester City.
The Greek international has taken to his new club seamlessly, with four goal contributions and a penalty shootout-winning strike in his first five games.
Having benefitted from an earlier start to pre-season with Club Brugge before his £34million move to Arsenal, it is perhaps no surprise the winger has looked so sharp.
"I feel I've adapted well in the team,” he told the official Arsenal website. "The guys helped me a lot on the pitch and also off the pitch.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
“It was also important for me, and it was really nice to have the pre-season from the beginning with my new team, and now to be ready for the official games. So I think it was a positive pre-season for me."
Tzolis came in to replace Leandro Trossard, who was signed by Besiktas in a deal worth around £17million.
The Belgian had become a key player for Arsenal, scoring arguably the most important goal of the season away at West Ham in the closing stages of their title-winning campaign.
Coming from Belgium, there are plenty of unknowns surrounding the 24-year-old, but he made his feelings very clear regarding this weekend’s Cardiff showdown against the FA Cup winners.
"It's a nice opportunity to start the season with a trophy," he said. "That's our target, and I think everyone is on the same page for this game, and we hope we're going to show it on the pitch."
If the scores are level after extra time then it will indeed go to a penalty shootout, of which Arsenal will still be pained from their defeat in such a contest at the end of June’s UEFA Champions League final.
However, if Tzolis’ strike in the spot kick face-off with Como on Wednesday was anything to go by, it seems the Gunners have a candidate for a new top penalty taker.
"That was exactly how I wanted to shoot it, actually,” Tzolis said regarding his penalty which was smashed into the left side netting.
“Because I was with Kai [Havertz] in the middle line and he asked me, 'Where are you going to shoot it?' I said, ‘There, very hard,’ and he said, ‘I want to see it!’
"Actually, I hit it very good. I wanted to shoot like this, and I'm happy that it was in, and it was a nice penalty."