Christos Tzolis has enjoyed a bright start to life at Arsenal but Gunners legend Thierry Henry has called on the Greek international to improve a certain aspect of his game
Christos Tzolis
Christos Tzolis has impressed during the early stages of his Arsenal career (Photo by Silvina Brodersohn - CameraSport via Getty Images)
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Thierry Henry has named the one area Christos Tzolis must improve at Arsenal. The Greek international joined the Gunners from Club Brugge in a deal worth £34million in the summer.
The 24-year-old has featured in every one of Arsenal's eight games so far this season and already has four assists, although he is yet to get on the scoresheet himself. He has established himself as Mikel Arteta's favoured option on the left wing, despite the likes of Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke remaining as options.
Tzolis failed to make an impact against Brighton at the Amex Stadium before the international break, though, and Henry believes the summer recruit must improve his performances when playing away from home.
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Speaking to Betway, Henry said: "Yes, I’ve been following him for a long time since he was playing for Club Brugge. He’s a very neat team player, he works hard, he’s not shy to be on the ball, he has an eye for a pass, and when he cuts back inside he can he can give you a couple of assists, as we’ve seen already. He hit the ground running straight away.
"It does help when you arrive and you’re maybe the only attacking player arriving in a team that’s already working, compared with if there are four or five new players and a new manager.
"You can see that he’s still struggling away from home. He has to understand what’s happening when you play the away in the Premier League, especially as we saw in that Villa game. But that’s normal. Overall, I think he has done well."
Tzolis scored 22 goals and contributed 29 assists in 52 appearances for Club Brugge last season but his head was set on a move to north London as soon as his agent mentioned it was a possibility. An hour conversation with Arteta only confirmed those feelings and he was unplayable against Manchester City in the Community Shield, as well as the Premier League opener against Coventry.
Speaking after that 3-0 win over Frank Lampard's side, Tzolis said: “It was a really nice feeling, to be fair. It was a great performance from everybody in front of 60,000 people. From the first minute, everybody was ready to win this game. I was very happy to have this performance, and we had a great game, so I'm very, very happy.
“I'm happy that I helped my team to win these two games. I felt the energy from the fans, especially in the first half. There was a lot of excitement when I had the ball and that gave me motivation to go with confidence in my actions. I felt it today and I hope that will be for the next games as well.
“I'm always trying to be involved to help my team and to make the right decisions. My teammates make it easier for me when they finish the actions or give the pass to me. Everything connects with each other.
“Everybody is at a high level and understands each other very quickly. That's a big difference with a big team. When you're champions of England, that means you're at the top level, so everything makes it easier, even for me as a new player, to adapt quickly. Thanks to my teammates, they're at the highest level.”
Arsenal face Leeds United at Emirates Stadium on October 10 and Tzolis will be hoping for a much improved performance in a Gunners shirt, if he is fit enough to feature. The Greek star pulled up with a hamstring issue during his country's 2-2 draw with the Netherlands on Thursday, although it's unclear at the moment how bad the injury is.
A trip to Nottingham Forest is scheduled for the week after the match against Leeds and it will be at the City Ground where the left winger can hopefully prove Henry wrong.