Christos Tzolis scores on his official friendly debut for Arsenal against Girona

Greek international winger Christos Tzolis made his official friendly debut for Arsenal in a match against Girona in Spain on August 1, 2026. The 24-year-old, who recently joined the English champions from Club Brugge for a reported 40 million euros, was named in Mikel Arteta's starting lineup and played for 61 minutes before being substituted by Reiss Nelson.

During the match, Tzolis scored his first goal for the club in the 30th minute. After cutting inside from the left flank, his shot found the net to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead, with reports noting the ball appeared to take a slight deflection off a defender. The final result of the encounter was a 4-1 victory for Arsenal, with additional goals scored by Kai Havertz, Jakob Kiwior, and Gabriel Jesus, while Arnau Martinez scored for the Spanish side.

Following the performance, manager Mikel Arteta praised Tzolis for his rapid adaptation to the team, highlighting his work ethic and technical similarity to Leandro Trossard. This appearance followed an unofficial training-ground friendly, during which Tzolis had also contributed an assist.