Christos Tzolis is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Premier League club Arsenal and the Greece national team. He was born on 30 January 2002 in Thessaloniki and is 24. Shirt number at Arsenal: 17. Right-footed, listed height about 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in).
The 2026 headline is the move. After a Player of the Season year at Club Brugge, Arsenal signed him on 23 July 2026 for a reported £34 million on a long-term deal (Capology lists wages around £90,000 a week to June 2031). He arrived as the left-sided replacement after Leandro Trossard left for Beşiktaş. Early Premier League minutes: five starts, no league goals, one assist, plus cup and Champions League cameos. For Greece he scored on 24 September 2026 in a Nations League win in Serbia.
Reference: Wikipedia, Arsenal announcement.
Who Is Christos Tzolis?
A Thessaloniki academy product who looked finished as a Premier League player after Norwich, then rebuilt in the 2. Bundesliga and exploded in Belgium. Direct left winger, both-foot finisher, set-piece taker. Club Brugge 2025–26 is the tape that changed the price: 22 goals and 29 assists in all competitions, Belgian title, Player of the Season. Across two Brugge years: 43 goals and 45 assists in 108 games.
Greek: Χρήστος Τζόλης.
Age, Height and Youth
Born 30 January 2002, Thessaloniki. Youth: Doxa Pentalofou, PAOK, a spell in Germany at SG Rosenhöhe Offenbach and SV Alemannia Königstädten, then back to PAOK. Barcelona looked at him as a teenager after huge under-13 numbers. First-team breakthrough under Abel Ferreira after lockdown, 2020.
Club Career
PAOK (2019–2021)
Senior debut 2020. Brace in Champions League qualifying against Beşiktaş. Greek Cup winner 2020–21 (top scorer in that cup run). PAOK player of the season / Super League young player after a first full campaign of roughly 16 goals and 10 assists. Sold to Norwich for about £9–11 million in August 2021.
Norwich City (2021–2024)
Dream debut: two goals and two assists in a 6–0 League Cup win over Bournemouth. Then the drop. Fourteen Premier League appearances in 2021–22 as Norwich went down; first PL game was a 1–0 loss at Arsenal. Three goals in about 30 appearances all in. Loans:
- FC Twente (2022–23) — limited
- Fortuna Düsseldorf (2023–24) — joint top scorer in 2. Bundesliga with 22 league goals (24 in 35 in all comps in some counts)
That German season is why Brugge paid.
Club Brugge (2024–2026)
Reported fee around €6 million, July 2024. Belgian Cup 2025, Super Cup, Belgian Pro League title 2025–26, Player of the Season, Goal of the Year 2025. Fourteen-game goal-or-assist streak. Nine of 29 assists in 2025–26 came from set pieces. Crystal Palace bid in 2025; he stayed, then named his next step: a Champions League club in England, Germany, Spain or Italy. Arsenal called.
Arsenal (July 2026–)
Confirmed 23 July 2026. Sporting director Andrea Berta sold him as versatile across the front line, two-footed, tight-space technician. Context: Arsenal had just missed Morgan Rogers to Chelsea; Trossard had gone; Martinelli links to Saudi sat in the background. Early 2026–27 Premier League line from FBref: 5 apps, 5 starts, 362 minutes, 0 goals, 1 assist. Brighton away (3–0 loss, 73 minutes) is the rough night so far. One Champions League appearance, one assist. Carabao Cup minutes off the bench. No league goal through 19 September. Greece duty on 24 September interrupted the club rhythm.
Greece
Senior debut October 2020 under John van ’t Schip. Wikipedia tally as of 24 September 2026: 35 caps, 10 goals. Scoring years were 2024–26 (World Cup qualifying included a hat-trick-adjacent run: Belarus, Denmark, Scotland). Latest: goal in the 2–1 Nations League win away to Serbia, 24 September 2026.
Playing Style
Left wing first. Right foot. Carries at defenders, arrives in the box, takes corners. Arteta’s set-piece side is a logical home if the end product from open play catches the Premier League. The Norwich years are the warning label; Düsseldorf and Brugge are the argument.
Personal Life
He keeps family off the beat. No widely confirmed public wife-and-kids file. Personality notes from teammates and The Athletic: lighter in the dressing room than the “Norwich flop” headline suggested.
FAQs
How old is Tzolis?
24. Born 30 January 2002 in Thessaloniki.
When did Arsenal sign him?
23 July 2026, about £34 million from Club Brugge.
Did he play in the Premier League before?
Yes. Norwich, 2021–22. It did not work.
What were his Brugge numbers?
43 goals, 45 assists, 108 games. Player of the Season in the title year.
What number does he wear at Arsenal?
17.
How many Greece goals?
10 in 35 caps as of 24 September 2026.
Botton Line
Tzolis is the rare second-chance Premier League story that arrived with receipts. Norwich buried him. Düsseldorf revived him. Brugge priced him. Arsenal, newly titled and short on the left after Trossard, paid £34 million for the 24-year-old who just posted 50 goal contributions in 50 games in Belgium.
Five league starts, zero league goals, one assist, and a midweek Greece strike in Belgrade: that is the live line on 25 September 2026. The biography from here is whether Emirates minutes start looking like Bruges.
