It says everything about the evolution of Christos Tzolis that Arsenal's newest signing accrued more goal contributions last year than he made league appearances across an ill-fated spell at Norwich City.
The reason Tzolis will play for the newly minted Premier League champions is because, at 24, he is now every inch the clinical, cold-blooded attacker that Europe's elite believed he would become back when he was a teenager. Barcelona were among his illustrious courters back then as heavyweights flocked to observe a prodigious talent. But it was Norwich, rather than Barcelona, who clinched the youngster's sought-after signature.
The Tzolis hype train was already in full flow when the formalities of his £8.8million transfer from PAOK was confirmed back in the summer of 2021. At 21, Tzolis was already a full Greece international; for a Norwich side who were back in the big-time after romping to the Championship title under Daniel Farke, the winger's capture had all the hallmarks of a transfer coup.
And yet, things deteriorated rapidly. After scoring twice in a 6-0 win over Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup on his debut, Tzolis soon fell out of favour. By early November, Tzolis had seen the manager who signed him sacked by the club, just hours after recording Norwich's first league win of the season.
