Arsenal's £34m summer signing 'optimistic' ahead of Germany test

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Christos Tzolis heads into Greece's Nations League meeting with Germany in Augsburg this evening on the back of the kind of international break Arsenal supporters will have enjoyed watching.

The winger scored the equaliser in Greece's 2-1 comeback win over Serbia on Thursday, with Tasos Douvikas completing the turnaround deep into stoppage time. It was a timely contribution for Tzolis, who had gone three consecutive Arsenal appearances without a goal or an assist before the break.

Tzolis sets out Greece's approach

Speaking after the victory over Serbia, Tzolis made clear that Greece will not be able to simply repeat the same plan against Germany.

"Germany are a stronger side than Serbia, so we'll approach the next game differently," he told ProtoThema. "But we're optimistic. We always play with confidence, we have a lot of quality and we need to show it at every ground."

The 24-year-old also identified the areas Greece must sharpen up if they are to take something from Augsburg.

"We need to stay focused and not concede easy goals, and going forward we can create a lot of chances and need to be a little more clinical," he added.

A strong start to life in north London

Tzolis arrived at the Emirates this summer in a £34 million deal from Club Brugge, and he wasted little time making an impression. His pre-season form caught the eye, and he then registered two assists as Arsenal beat Manchester City in the Community Shield — an early sign of what he can offer Mikel Arteta's attack in the wide areas.

The recent goalless run in an Arsenal shirt was a reminder that adapting to the Premier League is rarely a straight line, but his strike against Serbia underlines the attacking threat that persuaded the club to spend that money in the first place.

There would have been an additional Arsenal subplot to tonight's fixture, with Kai Havertz in line to face his club teammate for Germany. The forward suffered a muscular injury against the Netherlands on Thursday and has left the German camp, ruling him out of the Augsburg meeting.

That leaves Tzolis as Arsenal's sole representative on the pitch this evening, and another performance like the one he produced against Serbia would cap an excellent few days for the summer arrival. Arteta will be watching closely, hoping that the confidence gained on international duty travels back with him when the Premier League resumes.