Schweinsteiger names Arsenal signing a 'difference-maker'

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Bastian Schweinsteiger has singled out Christos Tzolis as one of the players who swung Greece's historic win over Germany, naming the Arsenal attacker among the game's difference-makers.

Greece beat the Germans in what was Jurgen Klopp's second game in charge of the national team, a result that ranks among the most significant in recent Greek football history. Tzolis was one of the standout performers.

Speaking via the Metro, the former Germany and Bayern Munich midfielder said: "Those who make the difference. If you look at Greece today, if you take Karetsas or Tzolis or Pavlidis up front, those were difference-makers for me. And for the Greeks today too. And we just don't have them."

A summer arrival making an early impression

Tzolis joined Arsenal this season from Club Brugge on the back of an excellent campaign in Belgium, and he has settled quickly into life in north London, featuring in both domestic and European competition.

His arrival came in a window that saw significant turnover in Arsenal's forward areas, with both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard departing. The club moved for the Greek international with the belief that he could take on that attacking workload, and the early signs have supported the decision.

He has been among the more effective new faces in the Premier League this season, and his form has carried over to the international stage. The performance against Germany was another demonstration of what he offers Greece.

Greece building something

Greece have endured several lean years since their golden generation, but the emergence of Tzolis alongside Konstantinos Karetsas and Vangelis Pavlidis has given the national side a genuine attacking core to build around.

Schweinsteiger's comments were framed as much around Germany's shortcomings as Greece's strengths — the 2014 World Cup winner pointedly noting that his own country lacks players capable of producing those moments. That a German great reached for Tzolis's name to illustrate the point says plenty about how the 24-year-old performed on the night.

For Arsenal, the international window has offered further evidence of what the club identified in him. Tzolis was not the marquee name of the summer, but he has been trusted from the start and has responded with consistent output for club and country.

The challenge now is maintaining that level across a long season, with Arsenal competing on multiple fronts and the winger likely to face increasing demands on his minutes. Replacing two established forwards was always going to require an adjustment period, and so far Tzolis has minimised it.

Attention turns back to club football, where Tzolis will look to carry his international form into Arsenal's next fixture.