Christos Tzolis emulates Alexis Sanchez as Arsenal confirm new signing, shirt number

Christos Tzolis has immediately followed in Alexis Sanchez's footsteps after Arsenal confirmed the attacker's signing from Club Brugge.

The Greece international has become Mikel Arteta's third arrival of the summer after Piero Hincapie and Illan Meslier, and the Gunners are believed to have paid £34m to bring him to the club.

Tzolis has penned a five-year contract until the summer of 2031 and returns to the Premier League following a brief spell with Norwich City in the 2021-22 campaign, which ended in relegation for the Canaries.

Now 24, Tzolis arrives at Arsenal following an extraordinary 2025-26 season with Club Brugge, in which he registered 22 goals and 29 assists in 52 appearances for the Belgian giants.

Speaking to the official Arsenal website in his first interview, Tzolis reflected on an hour-long conversation he had with Gunners boss Arteta, and revealed his excitement as soon as his agent reported on the possibility of a move.

Christos Tzolis 'absolutely amazed' as Arsenal transfer confirmed

Energy. Instinct. End product.

Christos Tzolis is a Gunner ✍️ pic.twitter.com/NP7QHI3u15
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 23, 2026

"It's absolutely amazing to sign for such a big club, the champions of England. I'm very proud to be part of this team for the next season," Tzolis said.

"When my agent was saying maybe it was a possibility, I was already excited. Afterwards it was getting more serious and now I'm here. I had a nice conversation [with Mikel Arteta].

"It was around an hour. We talked about everything, about the club, about myself, about his plans, about me of course, about the team. It was only positive things."

Tzolis faced Arsenal in last season's Champions League, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 league-phase loss for Club Brugge, and he is now the Belgian club's most expensive sale of all time.

The former Norwich youngster could make his Arsenal debut in the Gunners' pre-season opener against Girona on August 1, before an Emirates unveiling at the Emirates Cup against Borussia Dortmund on August 9.

What shirt number will Christos Tzolis wear at Arsenal?

Arsenal have also confirmed that Tzolis will sport the number 17 shirt, which was most recently donned by left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko before his departure to Ajax.

Prior to Zinchenko, the '17' was also worn by Cedric Soares, Alex Iwobi and Sanchez, who was bestowed with that jersey upon his arrival from Barcelona in the summer of 2014.

Nacho Monreal, Alex Song and Edu Gaspar - during the Invincibles era - previously sported the number 17 shirt for Arsenal, as did 1998 Premier League winner Emmanuel Petit.

Tzolis has arrived at Arsenal to fill the boots of Leandro Trossard, who departed in a £17.3m deal for Turkish giants Besiktas earlier this month.