Lee Dixon believes that Arsenal summer signing Christos Tzolis can take Mikel Arteta’s side to ‘the next level’.
Arsenal agreed a £34million deal with Club Brugge for Tzolis, with club bosses moving quickly to fill the void left by Leandro Trossard’s recent departure for Besiktas.
The 24-year-old Greek international arrived in north London with a stellar reputation from his two-year spell in Belgian football, where he racked up a total of 21 goals and 28 assists in 45 appearances.
And Tzolis has made an immediate impact in pre-season, registering three goal contributions in his three starts so far for the Gunners.
Get the latest transfer news every morning
Sign up to our daily football newsletter for personalised updates on who your team is trying to sign and who won’t be around next season.
Arsenal are still keen to strengthen on the left wing, having made a bold approach to sign Vinicius Junior before the Brazilian opted to extend his contract at Real Madrid.
But former Gunners defender Dixon is impressed by what he has seen so far from Tzolis and believes the club should be willing to make the 24-year-old their main man in that position for the start of the new season.
‘I’ve always said we need to strengthen that left-wing position,’ he told BestBettingSites.
‘Even the season before they won the league, I said (and it might have been a bit harsh), I don’t think you win the Premier League with Leandro Trossard as your starting left winger.
‘Having said that, last season he played some really important games and scored some crucial goals. It has become much more of a squad game where he and Gabriel Martinelli have rotated and done really well together.
‘But the player who stands out for me is Tzolis. I really like this kid. I think he’s that next level up from Trossard. Martinelli is a bit off-the-cuff – you don’t always know what you’re going to get.
‘So I think we should give Tzolis a bit of free rein and see how he goes in the first six or seven games.’
Earlier in the transfer window, Arsenal had been credited with interest in Bradley Barcola as a potential option to upgrade their options in wide attacking areas.
But Dixon is not sure that the Gunners should pursue a move for the Paris Saint-Germain winger given the French club’s exorbitant asking price.
‘I rate Barcola, but that’s a serious transfer fee,’ he added. ‘Barcola is still only 23 or 24. There’s room for development and raw naive talent there, yet he’s played enough high-level matches at PSG to prove he possesses the physical durability for top-flight football.
‘But when figures like £130m or £140m get thrown around, it’s a massive outlay regardless of current market inflation.’
Speaking after Wednesday’s pre-season draw with Como, Arteta said the club were still looking to make signings but admitted there are ‘very few players’ who can improve his squad.
‘There is more that we want to do because every time we have an opportunity to improve the squad and bring more quality and depth to the squad, we need to do that,’ Arteta said.
‘But we are actively trying to do so. The thing in the market, it doesn’t just depend on you, and we are very clear on that.
‘But the approach, the will and the desire of the club, that’s unquestionable, and we want to try to do that.
‘But we cannot promise that we’re going to do it because, again, it doesn’t only depend on us.
‘For the margins to improve there are very few players in the market who are available to do that and bring that to the club.
‘But again, we are actively looking to improve that and we are going to try.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.