Christos Tzolis: It’s Tzol Good

[Menard]

He definitely benefited from having Neto as the WB on his side. Meant he was either up against a smaller winger as his defender or if Neto wasn't back then it meant he had a second to settle with the ball before the RCB Acheampong could get out to him. Wouldn't surprise me if he continues to struggle against physical guys like Cash doing a man marking job on him and getting right up in his face every time he gets it, which means the opinion on him will continue to sway between "what do you expect signing jokers from Belgium as defending champs?" and "can't believe he has haters, so clean/efficient etc etc".

 

[RunTheTrap]

If Tzolis were an attacking midfielder playing out wide instead of a winger, there wouldn't be so much discourse about his lack of one-on-one ability or athleticism. He is similar to a traditional Spanish winger but without the flair. Spain won the World Cup with Baena doing a similar job to Tzolis. I saw people online comparing him to Alexis because of the No. 17 shirt and the hunched gait, but he's more Cazorla than Alexis. He’ll excel against deep blocks, which we’ll face in 80% of the games this season, and that's enough to win a league title.

 

[DuBB]

Anybody else that doesn’t have a strong opinion on this guy yet or are we forced to pick a side soon?

He was better than Saka yesterday, but that’s all I’ve got. Otherwise I’m indifferent about what I’ve seen to date.

There’s absolutely no reason to have a strong opinion.

Instead of picking a take and waiting to be proved right or wrong, we can just… watch and see how it plays out.

I know that’s no fun but it’s emotionally and mentally easier and better.

I like him so far. I understood what they saw in him. And now watching him, I can see what he’s trying to do, and learning how he goes about it, and it generally tracks.

He’s end result oriented. He aims for gaps, passes to the right person and isn’t fussed about whether he scores or they score. And if there’s no gap or no opportunity, he doesn’t force it. He just recycles and waits to get it back to try again.

Simple footballer. But simple is by no means a bad word.

You could even tell by his post match interview after Coventry, when he asked the TV people “did they give me the assist for Saka’s goal?” and he was not so jokingly a bit salty that he didn’t get it.

That’s his game. Numbers. But the good thing about him is he’s not doing it to the detriment of the team, but the benefit of them.

 

[Jason Jace]

Why exactly do we need to pick a side ?
Is there a war coming or something?

I do like though and I want him to succeed here.


Does that count as picking a side?

Anybody else that doesn’t have a strong opinion on this guy yet or are we forced to pick a side soon?

He was better than Saka yesterday, but that’s all I’ve got. Otherwise I’m indifferent about what I’ve seen to date.

 

[Trilly]

Anybody else that doesn’t have a strong opinion on this guy yet or are we forced to pick a side soon?

He was better than Saka yesterday, but that’s all I’ve got. Otherwise I’m indifferent about what I’ve seen to date.

It’s very early days. Think he has a nice base as a squad player but look at Zubi’s rise and fall.

 

[dka1]

If Tzolis were an attacking midfielder playing out wide instead of a winger, there wouldn't be so much discourse about his lack of one-on-one ability or athleticism. He is similar to a traditional Spanish winger but without the flair. Spain won the World Cup with Baena doing a similar job to Tzolis. I saw people online comparing him to Alexis because of the No. 17 shirt and the hunched gait, but he's more Cazorla than Alexis. He’ll excel against deep blocks, which we’ll face in 80% of the games this season, and that's enough to win a league title.

I think you may be right.

I incorrectly mischaracterised him as a Sanchez type after City & Coventry, and I still need to watch him more, but from memory Sanchez was more explosive than Tzolis and liked to dribble more.

Tzolis on the other hand does dribble a bit, but is moreso always looking to move the ball quite quickly and is intelligent with the way he utilises his strengths.

 

[samshere]

Think he'll do enough for a title charge. And be happy enough if he's made to operate from the bench if a wc player comes in.

 

[fabregooner]

He's a smart player, takes up really intelligent positions. Him and Calafiori exchange beautifully. Works extremely hard.

He'll get plenty of goals and assists in this league.

 

[Vinci]

Why exactly do we need to pick a side ?
Is there a war coming or something?

I do like though and I want him to succeed here.


Does that count as picking a side?

Don't you know?

The most important thing is to be right, whether Arsenal succeeds or not comes second.

 

[outlawz]

I think you may be right.

I incorrectly mischaracterised him as a Sanchez type after City & Coventry, and I still need to watch him more, but from memory Sanchez was more explosive than Tzolis and liked to dribble more.

Tzolis on the other hand does dribble a bit, but is moreso always looking to move the ball quite quickly and is intelligent with the way he utilises his strengths.

The good thing about his dribbling technique is he takes small touches directly at the defender and doesn't signal which way he is going to go until the final second which forces the fullback to backpedal into his own box. It's much easier for a defender if a winger chooses a side to run down so they can read and intercept but he doesn't really do that. By the time he gets towards the edge of the box, he then uses his vision to find a pass.

Traditional wing play has always involved beating the defender and than finding the pass - but no-one said it must be that - if you create enough uncertainty in the fullback to not engage - that creates the room to find a pass without having to beat them.

 

[ArsenesCoatMaker]

Every touch v ChelScum

 

[Rasmi]

There’s absolutely no reason to have a strong opinion.

Instead of picking a take and waiting to be proved right or wrong, we can just… watch and see how it plays out.

I know that’s no fun but it’s emotionally and mentally easier and better.

I like him so far. I understood what they saw in him. And now watching him, I can see what he’s trying to do, and learning how he goes about it, and it generally tracks.

He’s end result oriented. He aims for gaps, passes to the right person and isn’t fussed about whether he scores or they score. And if there’s no gap or no opportunity, he doesn’t force it. He just recycles and waits to get it back to try again.

Simple footballer. But simple is by no means a bad word.

You could even tell by his post match interview after Coventry, when he asked the TV people “did they give me the assist for Saka’s goal?” and he was not so jokingly a bit salty that he didn’t get it.

That’s his game. Numbers. But the good thing about him is he’s not doing it to the detriment of the team, but the benefit of them.

If we signed Dionande for 100 million and his first 3 games had 2 good games people would be over the moon. It’s just that he’s a 34 million pound player from Belgium league and people believed before we signed him he’s not good enough. So just like the Villa game every time he doesn’t have good game you will get the I told you so

 

[grange]

Love this guy already. He's still adjusting to his teammates and league so I believe that's why he's quick to find a pass before taking things on himself. If he looks this good before he's fully in sync then look out.

 

[A_G]

he was crowing about picking De Zerbi as manager of the season a couple of weeks ago too!

Stop lying about this you scrote

 

[Rasmi]

Stop lying about this you scrote

Is it true you hate the Greek? I think everyone is justified to hate one country, anything more than that there’s something wrong with you

 

[A_G]

Is it true you hate the Greek? I think everyone is justified to hate one country, anything more than that there’s something wrong with you

Never said anything against the Greeks. Being slandered again by the usual suspects.

 

[Rasmi]

Never said anything against the Greeks. Being slandered again by the usual suspects.

Ok so only Italians as @Bagels claimed

 

[Entropics]

Anybody else that doesn’t have a strong opinion on this guy yet or are we forced to pick a side soon?

He was better than Saka yesterday, but that’s all I’ve got. Otherwise I’m indifferent about what I’ve seen to date.

Havertz was so good he gifted the guy a pity assist, unsure of whether that's a good or bad sign. Might kick on like Havertz did once he got the pity penalty, might need his partners turning those alright passes into actual gold which I don't think will happen reliably.

 

[fabregooner]

Havertz was so good he gifted the guy a pity assist, unsure of whether that's a good or bad sign. Might kick on like Havertz did once he got the pity penalty, might need his partners turning those alright passes into actual gold which I don't think will happen reliably.

Try this post on Twitter might get some engagement

 

[Badger_Revenge]

He's doing a good job balancing the attack. Really benefits from Califiori being on the same side. Neto just gave up that space a ton.

He's very direct and two footed. He's not what I'd call a tricky winger, more like a quick action winger. There are certain matchups which will need something completely different. I guess Eze fills that spot.