Arsenal’s £34million newbie Christos Tzolis earns nickname of Spartan war hero after smashing pre-season fitness tests

ARSENAL new boy Christos Tzolis has earned the nickname of a Spartan war hero after smashing fitness tests during pre-season training. The winger, 24, has been top of the class after joining the Gunners from Club Brugge for £34million, so coaches have started calling him Leonidas. Arsenal splashed out £34million to sign Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge this summer Credit: Getty Gerard Butler plays Leonidas in the film 300 Credit: Alamy The Spartan king is one of the most famous characters from Ancient Greece and was brought to life 20 years ago by Hollywood star Gerard Butler in the movie 300. A bare-chested Butler depicted Leonidas’ heroic strength on the silver screen – and so Tzolis is more than happy with the comparison. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! The Greek star said: “One of the fitness coaches called me Leonidas. Leonidas from 300. “I know I’ve won [the fitness tests] so far. Not all the players are here yet. There are still some players that have to do the tests, of course. “But so far I’m first in the fitness test. It’s like 20metres, go back, 40metres, go back, 60metres, go back, I think five times in a row. “So it’s around 1.2km and it’s as fast as possible. Actually, it’s pretty hard. “I had the advantage that I started pre-season also with Brugge, so I was already training for two weeks and always I wanted to keep myself fit during summer so I was ready. “I came here ready, my fitness level and I was happy that I could show it here as well.” Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Arsenal ticket and hospitality deals GET tickets to see Arsenal home games with these official deals. The packages include optional upgrades to VIP hospitality. 21 Aug v Coventry City — BOOK HERE 6 Sep v Chelsea — BOOK HERE 10 Oct v Leeds United — BOOK HERE 24 Oct v Everton — BOOK HERE 7 Nov v Hull City — BOOK HERE More games available here. *If you click on a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue. Tzolis, who scored in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Girona last weekend, may be compared to a great fighter for his work on the pitch. But away from it, the winger has shown his softer side by singing Backstreet Boys for his initiation song at the club’s pre-season training camp in Spain. Tzolis said: “It was ‘I Want It That Way’. I tried to have an English song so everybody could be involved! “It’s actually really nice to be here, especially to be with the guys in the camp. “That makes it a bit easier to settle in with the group because we are all together every day. “Also the level of training, you can see the difference in the intensity. The demand from everybody is very high, so I really like it and so far it’s going well.” Tzolis joined Arsenal this summer after two stunning seasons with Club Brugge in Belgium. He scored 43 goals and assisted 45 times during 108 appearances, which led to the Gunners snapping him up. Tzolis has been the best performer for Arsenal in pre-season training this summmer Credit: Getty Christos Tzolis in action against Girona Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The winger has taken the No17 shirt at Arsenal, which was famously worn by Alexis Sanchez. Tzolis said: “I knew that he was wearing the shirt of No17. “Of course, I watched a lot of football and he was a top player for Arsenal, as a left winger always. “He’s one of the players I looked up to when I was younger. And also, I see some similarities with him. “But it’s not the reason I took the No17. It was more that there were not so many options for the lower numbers, and there was also No18 and 19 available. “I had them in the past, so I didn’t want to use them again. So, I went for the No17. It’s nice. Then also, Alexis Sanchez had No17 – so I hope I will have the same success.” Tzolis is back in the Premier League for a second time after previously spending three years with Norwich from 2021 to 2024. The winger struggled during that time, though, and was loaned out for the final two seasons. But he has no regrets over the move to Carrow Road, which included him making his Prem debut at the Emirates, and insists it made him stronger. Tzolis added: “You can have some setbacks and difficulties. I learned a lot of things from this period at Norwich. “And I feel now more ready to be in the Premier League. Now I have the chance to play for Arsenal. “For me, I think I made the right decision after Norwich. I developed myself, I improved a lot. “I’m not the same player I was in Norwich, 100 per cent. I feel it also in my body and also in my mindset. “Now it’s my time to show that I’m ready and capable of playing in the Premier League.” Joining the Gunners means more competition for places – and that is especially the case for Tzolis. Arsenal are still in the market for another left winger and Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr is an ambitious target. But Tzolis said: “Obviously I’m confident as a player, so I don’t think about the future and what the club will do in this position. “I’m thinking how to improve and settle as fast as possible in the club because I have the opportunity to train directly with the team from the beginning of the season, to play the friendly games and then to go to official games. “So it’s a chance to play directly from the beginning and then it’s up to me to show the qualities and what I can bring to the team. I’m pretty confident that I will show it in the next games.” Comment now