The Tzolis sit-u-a-shun, from a team-mate

“You could see what he brought and the attributes he was going to add to the group that we didn’t have before,”
“So yes, you could see the potential. You could see why we wanted to sign him or why we did. But it would be way too easy for me to say now that you could always see he was going to play for Arsenal and one of the top teams in the Premier League one day.
“I’m not going there because, at the time, not too many of us would have seen that coming. But what you always must take into consideration is his age, the experience and what it all teaches you. Living abroad and playing in those sorts of leagues, then afterwards playing in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
“It all adds up to your quality in the end, and it’s probably just taken those couple of extra years to get him that move to Arsenal. But potential-wise, you could definitely understand why we signed him.
“He did need some time to settle into English football, and in that year, we didn’t fully see his potential. We didn’t fully see what he’s capable of doing, and he needed some time to develop.
“But as footballers, we keep developing. As people and personalities, we keep developing. I think the spells he had in between (Norwich and Brugge) did really (help him) make a big step forward towards becoming the player that’s now being signed by Arsenal and will have a second go in the Premier League.

says Christoph Zimmermann, cut and pasted by Newsquest from a German interview

Posted By: Henclrikus on July 30th 2026 at 10:23:46

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