Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on new signing Christos Tzolis after the Greek international managed two assists against Manchester City in the Community Shield.
The Gunners won 3-0 in Cardiff and were by far the better team. Tzolis stole the show, and it seems Arsenal have bagged a gem in the 24-year-old.
On the winger, Arteta said: “He has adjusted to the squad and team so quickly and naturally. He is a player that makes good decisions when a lot of people tend to rush and make wrong decisions.
“He is very, very smart, very accurate and today in tight spaces he made the correct decision twice and we scored two goals.
“To play at the level that we did so early in the season, to show the desire that we showed, I was really impressed. I said to my players, I really enjoyed watching them play.”
Arsenal outplayed City, and one of their strengths was their midfield. New signing Bruno Guimaraes started, while Martin Odegaard was brilliant, and Declan Rice came off the bench.
On the midfield, Arteta said: “The midfield is very strong. We have been adding year after year quality and different combinations. Now we have a lot of leadership and players with different qualities.”
Pre-game there was some noise as Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri were not included in the matchday squad, but the Spaniard insisted it had nothing to do with their futures at the club.
“It’s really sad not to have the ability, and I’ve been trying to fight the Premier League to extend to accommodate more players in the squad, because they deserve to be in the squad.
“Hopefully we can change that rule and players can enjoy on the pitch and be an option to play and contribute to the team as much as possible. They are very important for us.”