LONDON — Five weeks into life at Arsenal, Christos Tzolis is already making a fresh impression. Friday's 3-0 home win over Coventry City was only the 24-year-old Greece international's second competitive appearance in red and white, yet his driving dribbles and willingness to force something in the final third are already thrilling Premier League champions' fans.

That constant willingness to make things happen in the final third has been a defining quality throughout a career that began, remarkably, in the chaos of a pandemic-hit season at PAOK in his hometown of Thessaloniki.

A lockdown breakthrough

Tzolis was just 18 when Covid-19 halted football in March 2020, having scored 19 goals in 23 games for PAOK's under-19s. When the season resumed that summer, first-team boss Abel Ferreira and his staff were blown away by the aggression with which the youngster carried the ball towards goal, combining directness with real technical quality.

Despite not being particularly tall, he was already physically strong — a blend of attributes that earned him his senior debut against domestic giants Olympiacos in the Greek Super League title play-offs that June.

"We had already identified him as an above-average talent with the under-19s," says Carlos Martinho, Ferreira's assistant at PAOK. "The Covid break ultimately proved to be a decisive factor, as it allowed him to start training with us every day on a systematic basis. During that period, he gave us clear signs that he was at the same level as the more experienced players."

Tzolis made his first senior start for the following season, memorably starring in Champions League qualifying against Besiktas — scoring two goals and adding an assist in a 3-1 second-round win, the first a right-footed curler from a free kick-like delivery and the second a poacher's finish.

"During Champions League qualification against Besiktas, seeing that young player, whom we had just promoted two months ago, score two goals and assist another was unforgettable," Martinho says.

Ferreira adds: "Christos has a very strong competitive mentality and followed every instruction we gave him. We were happy to see that he was a player who worked hard to develop."

The Norwich setback — and the hard yards

Tzolis was a step ahead of his coaches even as a teenager. It was his post-PAOK move that tested him. He signed for promoted Norwich City for £10million in August 2021, aged 19, after one full senior season in which he was named PAOK's player of the year and the Greek Super League's young player of the season, scoring 16 goals and assisting ten.

Former Norwich keeper Tim Krul, the one-time Netherlands international, remembers the young Greek warmly.

"I have very fond memories of Christos," Krul tells The Athletic. "We always had a good laugh. I tried to learn Greek words on Duolingo and came up with some random stuff that he appreciated."

Tzolis scored twice on his Norwich Debut, a 6-0 Carabao Cup rout of Bournemouth, but started only three times in 14 league appearances as Norwich went straight back down. A loan to Twente followed, unremarkable on paper, before he rediscovered his scoring touch on a season-long loan at Fortuna Dusseldorf in 2023-24 — 24 goals and eight assists.

"He was the right player at the wrong place at the wrong time," Krul says, "because going into the Premier League was too soon for him, physically and mentally. But I can't praise him enough for his work ethic. He always stayed back to practise free kicks and shooting."

The persistent practice paid off. At Bruge in 2025-26 he contributed 29 assists in 52 all-competitions games — nine of them from dead-ball deliveries (eight corners and one free kick) — and while Declan Rice remains Arsenal's principal corner-taker, Tzolis was a regular-set piece option during the summer campaign for the side that scored 25 set-piece goals last season.

A set-piece dark man at Arsenal

Crucially for Arsenal, there is the spark shown at PAOK. The veteran's off-ball diagonal runs were a heavy focus of his development, with an emphasis on drifting from the wing into central areas — a pattern visible against Coventry when he found Bukayo Saka in the box after cutting inside from the left.

"Christos - Karlos has always been a very direct and vertical player in his actions," Martinho says. "We tried to make the most of the fact that he is strong with both feet and worked a lot on his reading of the game in transition moments."

Those who know him speak of a remarkably professional and focused player, with a lighter side that comes out in more personal settings.

"He was a very laid-back but funny boy," Krul says. "He was big on fantasy football, even then. He breathes football and knows everything about all the players and teams. I also saw a clip of him getting his goodbyes from Club Brugge with the whole stadium applauding him. That says a lot."

That humour was on full display when the 24-year-old claimed an assist for Saka's goal in a post-match interview, having captained himself in fantasy football. "That's the humour he's got," Krull grins.

Five years after his first English adventure, it finally feels as though Tzolis is at the right place at the right time.

"He's an example for a lot of young talents in the new generation," Krul concludes. "Even if you've been touted as world-class, sometimes it takes time to fully reach your potential. And he's still not there yet, but for him to make this step to Arsenal is a massive testament to him."