Arsenal summer signing Christos Tzolis has admitted that the fans helped to drive him on during his first Premier League appearance for the Gunners.
Arsenal summer signing Christos Tzolis has made a very fast start to life with his new club, impressing throughout pre-season before carrying that form into the new campaign.
The winger provided a brace of assists in the Community Shield match against Manchester City, and he was just as impressive in the Premier League opener against Coventry City on Friday night.
Though the winger didn’t end the game with a goal or assist, he won the ball in a dangerous area for Arsenal’s opener, and it was his pass that was deflected to Bukayo Saka for the Gunners’ second.
Tzolis even could have scored himself, with one shot curling just wide and another powerful effort well saved.
Speaking to the Arsenal website after the game, Tzolis credited the home support at the Emirates Stadium for helping to inspire his latest strong performance.
“I felt the energy from the fans, especially in the first half,” Tzolis said. “There was a lot of excitement when I had the ball and that gave me motivation to go with confidence in my actions.
“I felt it today and I hope that will be for the next games as well.
“It was a great performance from everybody in front of 60,000 people. From the first minute, everybody was ready to win this game. I was very happy to have this performance, and we had a great game, so I’m very, very happy.”
It’s often the case with attacking players that they thrive when they feel the fans on side. There’s a clear excitement in the air when they gain possession, and you can often visibly see the opposing defenders shrink away.
It’s obviously a two-way street, as the Arsenal fans wouldn’t be getting so excited if Tzolis hadn’t been so impressive in his appearances so far.
But there’s no doubt that burgeoning relationship between Tzolis and his new supporters is helping him shine.
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