In the summer of 1993, Manchester United won the title and then signed Roy Keane in a British record transfer. In 2001, United won the title and then bought Ruud van Nistelrooy. In 2008, the summer after winning the Premier League and Champions League, they signed Dimitar Berbatov not because they really needed him but because they could.
Each time, Alex Ferguson took steps not just to maintain the gap to their rivals but to grow it. Each time, United defended their Premier League crown.
Even before kick-off here at the Emirates Stadium, there was that familiar sense of a title-winning manager screwing down the lid on the Premier League trophy they owned. Mikel Arteta’s newest signing, Ezri Konsa, was paraded on the pitch to a standing ovation – quite the flex to sign the second best right-sided centre-half in the Premier League while the best, William Saliba, is sidelined with injury.
And after a few minutes of this opening 3-0 win over Coventry City, it was clear that Arteta had strengthened his attack too. Christos Tzolis impressed in pre-season games and topped most of Arsenal’s fitness metrics. Here he buzzed into action on the left wing, legs whirring with the urgency of a man fleeing a swarm of bees, all fast-twitch jolts and excitable energy, exactly the sort of opponent Coventry’s right-back Milan van Ewijk didn’t want to face on his first Friday night live on Sky Sports.
Arsenal had a plethora of attacking options on the field: Kai Havertz led the line, Bukayo Saka started on the right and Martin Odegaard flitted in and out of the right half-space. But for all the passing lanes on offer, the gameplan became a simple one: when in the final third, seek Tzolis.
The Greek loitered on the left touchline patiently waiting for a pass, and then he was off, surging towards the box, feinting left and right, dropping his shoulder and shifting his marker off-balance before exploiting the space he’d created. There were no stepovers or needless touches, just concise and efficient wing play, and it was devastatingly effective.
Tzolis had a hand in Arsenal’s first goal when his diligent press won the ball high up the pitch, before Riccardo Calafiori crossed for Havertz to sweep home. Four minutes later Tzolis turned creator with a low, left-footed cross which Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth could only tip into the path of Saka, who knocked the ball into a half-empty net. It may not register as an official assist, like his two in the Community Shield last weekend, but there were plenty of signs that Tzolis will rack up productive numbers playing for his new team.
“I love this kind of energy every time he’s on the ball,” Arteta said. “I think he’s earned [the fans’ appreciation]. I think the way he has performed in the last few games has been phenomenal. What he transmits as a player, so direct, so incisive, constantly he wants to make things happen, and he has an incredible variety of actions in the last 30 metres to decide and to make the right decisions, even when the spaces are sometimes really, really small.”
Coincidentally, Tzolis made his Premier League debut in this stadium five years ago during a loan spell at Norwich City. It was a period of harsh learning in which his manager, Daniel Farke, hailed Tzolis as one of the brightest young players in Europe, but later publicly berated him for taking and missing a penalty at Anfield despite not being the manager’s designated penalty taker. Tzolis admitted his confidence was shot by the end of a move in which he made only six starts.
His breakthrough came during another loan at German side Fortuna Dusseldorf, and his performances earned him his move to Club Brugge two years ago. The last campaign was one of abundance for Brugge before this summer’s £34m switch to Arsenal, in which he scored 20 goals and recorded 29 assists. Brugge won the title and Tzolis was awarded Belgium’s player of the season.
Since that ill-fated spell at Norwich, Tzolis has recorded 122 goal contributions in 145 games. Even accounting for a career spent largely outside the big-five leagues, they are astonishing numbers.
It remains to be seen what competition Tzolis faces for his place at the Emirates. Arsenal’s very public pursuit of Vinicius Jr ultimately failed but would have immediately relegated Tzolis to understudy. Gabriel Martinelli was not in the Arsenal squad here despite being fit to play, and while the Brazilian’s ostracism secures Tzolis’s place in the short-term, it might suggest Arteta wants another new wide player. Juventus’s Kenan Yildiz remains a transfer target.
But Tzolis owns the left forward spot right now, and his task is to make himself undroppable no matter the competition. His determination to score was clear, taking a match-high four shots, none of which went particularly close. He may well end up setting new records for cutting inside and letting fly, which teammates won’t always thank him for. Calafiori may question his life choices when his fifth lung-bursting underlap is ignored.
But Tzolis’s track record suggests he could be the remedy to Arsenal’s limitation last season, in games against stubborn defences when they lacked the type of player to unlock the door. It is only one game of a long season, but there is a sense at the Emirates that Arteta has already begun work tightening Arsenal’s grip.