Arsenal’s Greek Gunners: Can Tzolis succeed where others struggled?

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·24 de julio de 2026

Arsenal’s Greek Gunners: Can Tzolis succeed where others struggled?

Christos Tzolis became the most expensive transfer in Greek football history, when he signed for Arsenal this week.

To welcome the 24-year-old to the Premier League champions, let’s take a look at the other Greek Gunners…

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Greek stars to wear the Arsenal shirt

Giannis Tavlaridis (2001-2003)

It’s fair to say Giannis Tavlaridis doesn’t have the legacy in England that he does in France.

Lille supporters affectionately nicknamed the defender ‘Taureau’ (‘The Bull’), but Arsenal fans only caught brief glimpses of him, mostly in the League Cup.

Arsene Wenger became more willing to hand opportunities to young players after the move to the Emirates, so perhaps Tavlaridis was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Konstantinos Mavropanos (2018-2022)

Ironically, the 28-year-old has recently been linked with a return to the Emirates following West Ham’s relegation to the Championship.

It was often suggested that Arsene Wenger believed the defender had a bright future, handing him opportunities during his final weeks in charge.

However, persistent groin injuries meant Mavropanos never truly established himself under either Unai Emery or Mikel Arteta.

This was also a period when Arsenal’s priority often appeared to be reducing the wage bill. Whereas previous generations may have benefited from developmental loan spells before returning stronger, Mavropanos spent two seasons in Germany while another club covered his wages.

His impressive Bundesliga form did little to change Arsenal’s thinking, with Stuttgart eventually signing him permanently for around £7 million.

Mavropanos (getty images)

Sokratis deserved more

Sokratis Papastathopoulos (2018-2021)

One of Unai Emery’s first signings, Sokratis brought qualities Arsenal’s defence had often lacked: leadership, aggression and a genuine desire to defend.

Unfortunately, both on and off the pitch, this proved to be one of the most turbulent periods in the club’s recent history, meaning we rarely saw the consistent performer who had impressed so much in Germany.

It became clear early on that Mikel Arteta felt Sokratis wasn’t suited to the style of football he wanted to implement. As we would soon discover, our manager has never been afraid to move on from players once he loses faith in them.

Apart from occasionally filling in at right-back after football resumed following the COVID-19 shutdown, the Greek international unknowingly made what would prove to be his final Arsenal start.

Incredibly, after the restart he played just one more minute of Premier League football before eventually leaving the club.

The biggest compliment I can pay Sokratis is his professionalism. Despite being frozen out, he remained committed enough that Arteta rewarded him with a late appearance in the 2020 FA Cup Final. Other players in similar situations did not receive that same gesture.

He would never play for Arsenal again because, rather astonishingly, he wasn’t registered for either the Premier League or Europa League squads the following season.

That meant Arsenal were paying a player close to £100,000 per week who was unable to feature for almost six months.

It was an era when the club developed the unfortunate habit of terminating contracts simply to reduce the wage bill.

Even after leaving North London, Sokratis has always spoken warmly about his time at Arsenal.

That says everything about the man.

Welcome to Arsenal, Christos Tzolis.

Which Greek player do you remember most fondly, Gooners? And do you agree that Sokratis deserved better during his final months at Arsenal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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