According to Sky Sports, Arsenal will sign Club Brugge winger Tsolis for £34 million, with the Greek forward serving as a direct replacement for Trossard.

Tsolis will be Arsenal's first outfield signing since winning the Premier League title, and the deal comes as something of a surprise. But no one will be more surprised than Norwich fans – in 2021, Tsolis joined The Canaries for £10 million, a club record transfer fee, but made only 30 appearances in two years, suffered constant injuries, and eventually left quietly. He even made his Premier League debut for Norwich at Emirates in September that year, when Arsenal were bottom of the table under Arteta with no points. Now he returns to England, joining the Premier League champions, after contributing 51 goals in 52 appearances for Club Brugge last season.

Tsolis's £34 million move to Arsenal will make him the most expensive Greek footballer in history and the most expensive player ever exported from Belgium's First Division. More importantly, he will directly replace Trossard. A careful analysis of Tsolis's technical characteristics reveals many similarities between the two.

First, their roles. According to informed sources, the Greek forward is a winger, but like Trossard, he can also play as an attacking midfielder (number 10). Last summer, Crystal Palace seriously considered signing Tsolis to replace Eze, who is now a key player for Arsenal. Club Brugge's assistant coach Milkon, who worked with Tsolis until February this year, told Sky Sports: "He can play different roles. Cutting in from the left – giving himself space to start from the wing and then look for opportunities to move infield – that's his strongest game. If you ask him to stay wide and go one-on-one, he can do that too. But the closer he gets to goal, the more dangerous he is. Once he's in the middle, you can always expect him to attack the space."

Another similarity between Tsolis and Trossard is their availability. Trossard's injury record at Arsenal is exemplary – he has missed only 4 matches due to injury in three and a half years, all of which occurred in his final season in North London. Tsolis has a similar record at Club Brugge – during his time in Belgium, his longest absence was only 2 matches, despite being one of the most active and aggressive players on the team.

Milkon added: "He is a very hard-working player. He covers a lot of ground in matches, with many high-speed sprints and full-speed runs. Some players can do that once a week, but he can do it every three or four days in the Champions League schedule, and he does it consistently. He also looks after his body very well and is a very professional player. On matchday, he arrives early to prepare and activate his body. He eats well, trains hard, and has everything needed to be a top professional."

The final similarity between Trossard and Tsolis is their temperament – stemming from a strong desire to win. Arteta affectionately calls Trossard a "bit of a moaner" because he constantly complains during training and to referees. According to former coach Milkon, one of the biggest areas for Tsolis's improvement is "emotional stability." "He doesn't like being kicked – of course no one does. But he's often a target for opponents. They need to find ways to stop him, and often they can't. But when he gets kicked, or when a referee's decision goes against him, he can struggle to stay focused." Milkon describes this state as "fighter mode." Despite being a bit temperamental, this doesn't make Tsolis toxic or a bad teammate. When Club Brugge won the Belgian title last season, his teammates danced a traditional Greek dance with Tsolis on the championship podium – showing that he won hearts in the dressing room. "They often do that," said Milkon, "You wouldn't do that with someone unpopular. As a person, he's a great guy. He makes the team feel like family because he's very friendly, relaxed, always smiling, laughing, and chatting in the dressing room, laid-back off the pitch. But once on the pitch, he immediately goes into fighter mode. He wants to win every training session, not just mess around. If he doesn't, he sometimes tries to force things. But he's a winner. Off the pitch, he's the best guy in the dressing room. He can sometimes seem a bit stubborn, but he's open and willing to learn. On the pitch, he certainly has his own way and feelings, which need to be respected. But when you give him instructions and explain the reasoning, he's always willing to accept because he wants to be the best."

Of course, the key to Tsolis winning the approval of Club Brugge's dressing room is his goal statistics – 22 goals and 29 assists in all competitions last season. This is no coincidence; he has scored at least 20 goals in each of his last three seasons at Club Brugge and Düsseldorf. His shooting ability improved significantly in Belgium. "In training, you can immediately see he has exceptional shooting power," said Milkon, "He always uses that power to beat the goalkeeper with great effect. But we also helped him improve his accuracy."

Of course, these goal figures need to be considered in the context of league quality. According to Opta's strength rankings, Belgium's First Division is the eighth strongest league in the world, just below the Championship. Arsenal found last season that Gyökeres's goals in Portugal were difficult to replicate in the Premier League – the striker's 39 league goals for Sporting CP yielded only 14 Premier League goals in his first season at Arsenal. Champions League data is a fairer way to measure Tsolis's potential, and the results are quite impressive: the 24-year-old was one of the most prolific shooters in the Champions League last season, with shots per 90 minutes comparable to many top players. He's able to get into good positions thanks to his dribbling ability – last season he was also among the best in Europe for creating shooting opportunities through dribbling. Given that Tsolis played for an "underdog" team like Club Brugge, these statistics are even more remarkable: Club Brugge averaged only 46% possession in the Champions League group stage last season, the lowest among participating teams, before being eliminated in the play-off round. Also appearing on both of these lists alongside Tsolis is Paris Saint-Germain's Kvaratskhelia – Arsenal explored the possibility of signing him earlier this summer. Coincidentally, this Georgian winger was discovered at Napoli by Micheli, who is now part of Edu's talent scouting team at Arsenal.

Tsolis may not be the most famous name in Arsenal's summer transfer window, but despite his setback at Norwich, this deal seems quite sensible.

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