According to Sky Sports, Arsenal will sign Choliz, a winger from Club Brugge, for £34 million, and the Greek attacker will directly replace Leandro Trossard.

Choliz will be Arsenal's first outfield signing since winning the Premier League title, making this transfer somewhat unexpected. However, no one will be more shocked than Norwich fans. In 2021, Choliz joined Norwich for £10 million, a club record transfer, but persistent injuries limited him to just 30 appearances over two years before he quietly departed. He even made his Premier League debut for Norwich at Emirates Stadium in September that year, when Arsenal were bottom of the table without a single point under Arteta. Now he returns to England after contributing 51 goals in 52 games for Club Brugge last season to join the Premier League champions.

Choliz's £34 million move to Arsenal will make him the most expensive Greek footballer in history and the highest-priced export from the Belgian top division. More importantly, he will directly replace Leandro Trossard. A careful analysis of Choliz's technical characteristics reveals many similarities between the two players.

First, their roles. According to sources, the Greek attacker is a winger, but like Leandro Trossard, he can also play as a number 10. Last summer, Crystal Palace seriously considered signing Choliz as a replacement for Eze, now a key player for Arsenal. Milkon, Club Brugge's head coach (who worked with Choliz until February this year), told Sky Sports: "He can play in different roles. His strongest play is cutting inside from the left—starting on the flank and finding opportunities to move inward. If you ask him to stay wide in one-on-one situations, he can do that too. But the closer he gets to goal, the more dangerous he becomes. Once he moves into the center, you can always expect him to attack space."

Another similarity between Choliz and Leandro Trossard is their availability. Trossard's injury record at Arsenal has been exemplary, missing only 4 matches due to injury over three and a half years, all occurring in his final season in North London. Choliz has a similar record at Club Brugge. During his time in Belgium, his longest consecutive absence was just 2 matches, despite being one of the team's most active and combative players.

Milkon added: "He is a very hardworking player. He covers a lot of ground, including many high-intensity sprints and all-out runs during matches. Some players can do this once a week, but he consistently does it three to four times every few days during the Champions League schedule. He is also very dedicated to body management and is an elite professional. On match day, he arrives early at the stadium to prepare and activate his body. He eats well, trains hard, and has everything needed to be a top professional."

The final similarity between Leandro Trossard and Choliz is their temperament, rooted in an intense desire to win. Arteta affectionately calls Leandro Trossard "a bit of a moaner" because he constantly complains during training and to referees. According to former coach Milkon, one of Choliz's main areas for improvement is "emotional control." "He doesn't like being fouled. Of course, no one does, but he's often the target of opponents. They need to find a way to stop him, and often they can't. But when he gets fouled or a referee's decision goes against him, he can struggle to maintain focus." Milkon calls this state "fighter mode." Despite Choliz's occasional temperament, it doesn't make him toxic or a bad teammate. When Club Brugge won the Belgian championship last season, his teammates danced a traditional Greek dance with him on the championship podium, indicating he is popular in the locker room. "They often do that dance," Milkon said. "They wouldn't do it with someone unpopular. He's a great person off the pitch. He's very cheerful, relaxed, always laughing and joking in the locker room, and makes the team feel like family outside the stadium. But once he steps on the pitch, he immediately switches to fighter mode. He wants to win in every training session—it's not just play. If he doesn't achieve that, he sometimes tries to force a resolution. But he's a winner. Off the pitch, he's the best person in the locker room. Sometimes he can seem a bit stubborn, but he's open-minded and willing to learn. Of course, on the pitch he has his own way and emotions, which must be respected. But if you give him direction and explain the reason, he always accepts it. Because he wants to be the best."

Of course, Choliz's scoring record helped earn him respect in the Club Brugge locker room. Last season across all competitions: 22 goals and 29 assists. This is not a temporary phenomenon. Over the last three seasons, he has scored at least 20 goals for both Club Brugge and Fortuna Düsseldorf respectively. His shooting ability improved in Belgium. "In training, you can immediately see that he has incredible shooting power," Milkon said. "He always uses that power to beat the goalkeeper, with remarkable effect. But we also helped improve his accuracy."

Naturally, these goal tallies must be considered in light of the league's standard. According to Opta power rankings, the Belgian top division is the world's 8th strongest league, just below the English Championship. Arsenal learned last season from Portugal's Gyökeres that the goals he scored at Sporting Lisbon don't easily translate to the Premier League. The striker who scored 39 goals at Sporting managed only 14 Premier League goals in his first season at Arsenal. Champions League data provides a fairer measure of Choliz's potential, and the results are very impressive. At 24, the player was among those attempting the most shots in the Champions League last season, with his per-90 shooting numbers comparable to many top players. His ability to get into good positions stems from his ball-carrying ability. Last season, he was comparable to Europe's best players in creating shooting opportunities through ball carrying. These statistics are even more remarkable considering Choliz played for a "weaker" team like Club Brugge. Club Brugge had just 46% average possession in the Champions League group stage last season—the lowest among participating teams—before being eliminated in the playoffs. The player appearing alongside Choliz on both these lists is Paris Saint-Germain's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whom Arsenal explored signing earlier this summer. Coincidentally, the Georgian winger was discovered by Napoli's Micheli, who is now part of Arsenal's Berta scouting team.

While Choliz may not be the flashiest name in Arsenal's summer transfer window, despite his Norwich disappointment, this deal looks quite reasonable.

AI 번역.

AF PC사이트가 오픈했습니다! 컴퓨터에서 전체 뉴스, 댓글, 경기 상세 정보와 데이터를 확인하세요. 방문하기: www.allfootballapp.com