“Great piece of business” – Arsenal praised for pulling off one of the signings of the summer

Arsenal have been praised for pulling off a smart signing in the form of Christos Tzolis, with Gunners legend Ray Parlour a big fan of what he’s seen from him so far.

The Greece international joined Arsenal from Club Brugge earlier in the summer, and has started brightly with some eye-catching displays in pre-season.

It will be interesting to see if Tzolis can keep this form up as he’s now playing at a far higher level than he has before, but Parlour has been hugely encouraged by what he’s seen.

“Christos Tzolis has come in and made a great impact already, and he only cost around £35m… but then again Leandro Trossard was very cheap, when you think of the value we got out of him over those few years. It was a bit sad to see him go, actually, but to get a player like Tzolis in, I think is a great piece of business,” Parlour told Seven, powered by Ladbrokes.

“He scored a lot of goals in Belgium, although obviously it’s a tougher standard over here, but he’s already shown he’s got a goal in him, and he has a couple of assists to his name already.

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“This is the next step for him as a player, and you’ve got to step up from somewhere. Now, it’s about whether he can handle the pressure, and whether he fits Arsenal’s style. At the moment he’s been brilliant. I like his energy, his running power, and how he makes things happen. He could be one of the signings of the season, if he carries on the way he’s going.

“He’s already exciting fans. You know, most of my mates who are Arsenal fans are already speaking highly of him. The hardest bit for the player is to keep it going. You know, there are going to be periods where you’re not playing so well, and it’s all about how you bounce back. He’s buzzing though; he’s got a move out of nowhere to the champions, so let’s hope he can continue how he’s started, because if he does, then he’s nailed on to play every week.”

Do Arsenal still need one more signing in attack?

Arsenal will surely have gone into this summer’s transfer window aiming for a bigger name out wide than Tzolis.

Even if the 24-year-old has started well and looks like someone who could develop into a really top player, it’s a lot to ask of him to come in and immediately perform week in, week out for a Premier League title-chasing side and a club with Champions League ambitions.

Still, Arsenal have missed out on both Morgan Rogers and Bradley Barcola so far in this transfer window, with BBC Sport claiming they were on the north London giants’ list at one point.

Rogers is now at Chelsea and Barcola is closing in on Liverpool, so options to find another winger are running out.

It may be that Arsenal will be content to leave that position as it is and go for Julian Alvarez instead, even if he’s more of a striker, as he can also operate as a wide-forward or attacking midfielder if need be.