Christos Tzolis opens pathway for January spending as Arsenal’s £140m financial boost confirmed

Arsenal’s strong start to the campaign, with five wins out of five, has drawn applause from all quarters.

Napoli boss Massimiliano Allegri claimed his side played against “one of the strongest teams in Europe” while Regis Le Bris said Arsenal are “relentless when you don’t seize your opportunity” after falling to a 2-0 defeat at the stadium of light.

Mikel Arteta’s signings have had a large hand in maintaining Arsenal’s perfect record with Ezri Konsa’s outings managing to distract from William Saliba’s layoff.

But just as impressive is the showing of Christos Tzolis brought in from Club Brugge.

Mikel Arteta praise of the Greek as “a player that makes good decisions when a lot of people tend to rush and make wrong decisions.” has aged well as he’s racked up 4 assists already.

Though fans casting one eye on the future will be anxious as he’s yet to register a goal, there’s signs the club are mindful of reinforcing at the next available opportunity.

Read more: Arsenal could sign two forwards worth up to £200 million next summer transfer window

A Forward Revamp Come January

Football London notes that the £140m set aside to bring Vinicius Jr to North London could now be used to recruit Victor Osimhen from Galatasaray given how well Tzolis appears to be holding down the fort down the left-hand side.

Jon Mackenzie of The Athletic pins Arsenal’s left-side dominance on his tendency to attack spaces diagonally providing yet another tactical evolution under Mikel’s tenure.

However, this form hasn’t helped Viktor Gyokeres, who has increasingly been scrutinised in recent weeks.

Only seeing 100 minutes and zero goals so far, the Nigeria international’s 65 goals and 18 assists in 78 appearances for the Turkish outfit won’t go easily ignored in North London.

It remains to be seen whether Gyokeres is still at risk of leaving to make way for the recruited striker; however, developments in other areas of the club provide some insight.

Arsenal recently onboarded US consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) led by Paul Petranca, to review the club’s financial future after accounts showed 7 years of consecutive losses.

A club staff member who chose to remain anonymous shared that confusion has spread, with potential workforce cuts seemingly on the horizon, given the strong sporting performance last season.

There is a sense among those on the ground that trimming the commercial wing of the club is counterproductive at a time where Arsenal have risked violating financial fair play regulations.

Despite this, Juliet Slot left her position as chief commercial officer after almost five years with the Gunners, owing to the commercial department’s unease with BCG’s introduction.

Juliet’s departure may well be part of a cost-cutting exercise to allow for bolstering in January, even as fears arise about what that loss of human resources could mean for revenues moving forward.