£34m Arsenal signing refused to come off before hamstring injury

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Christos Tzolis told Greece head coach Ivan Jovanovic he was not coming off the pitch before the Arsenal winger was eventually withdrawn with a hamstring problem during Tuesday's 2-2 Nations League draw with Holland.

The 24-year-old pulled up shortly after having an opening goal ruled out for offside, feeling tightness in the back of his right hamstring. He initially walked off the pitch with his head in his hands before attempting to carry on.

Jovanovic made the call for him. Tzolis is now set to undergo tests in Greece before returning to Arsenal to begin his recovery, according to football.london, and will miss Sunday's Group B meeting with Germany.

'I tell him to go out and he says I'm not going out'

Asked to clarify the touchline exchange in his press conference, Jovanovic explained the situation in blunt terms, with quotes carried by Greek outlet sport24: "How do I handle it? You tell me? I'm his coach, I tell him to go out and he says 'I'm not going out'."

He added: "How do I handle it? So, this is something that I characterise as the Greek mentality and all these kids who come to play in the national team regardless of age. I think it was a scene that everyone saw, those who were close."

The Greece boss said he acted on instinct and on medical advice. "I told him to get out, because I suspected that he wouldn't have done that if he hadn't felt something. We don't know how big the damage is today, but I hoped it was just a twitch, something temporary," he said.

"I didn't have any reason to be honest, because these aren't qualifiers, they're the Nations League. First and foremost I wanted to protect the player. He didn't want to stay near me to go out; instead, he went to defend the corner. And then he went out. These are our players."

Muscular issue forced the call

Jovanovic insisted the substitution was made in consultation with his medical team. "We have doctors, and very good ones at that. So when a doctor considers that this thing, as he and Christos understand it, is something that is not for the player to continue playing," he said.

"Certainly first as a coach I have to take the decision to replace the player, because it was a muscular issue. It wasn't a problem, like an ankle or something else. But when it's muscular issues, that, along with the doctors, with the immediate information I have, was the reason I asked for it to come out immediately."

There were encouraging signs after the final whistle. Tzolis stopped to sign autographs for Greek supporters outside the stadium, swapped shirts and posed for a photograph with Arsenal team-mate Jurrien Timber.

A £34million summer signing from Club Brugge, Tzolis arrived in north London off the back of a strong spell in Belgium and had been in good form on international duty, assisting Dimitrios Kourbelis' 74th-minute winner against Jurgen Klopp's Germany side in Augsburg last weekend.

The results of his tests in Greece will determine how long Arsenal are without him once he lands back in London.