What shirt number will Christos Tzolis wear for Arsenal?

Christos Tzolis is officially an Arsenal player after his move from Club Brugge was confirmed earlier today.

As he becomes the Gunners' third signing of the summer after Piero Hincapié and Illan Meslier, plenty of fans will be wondering what squad number the Greece international has taken following his move from Belgium to North London.

With the digits he donned for Club Brugge unavailable, Tzolis had to pick a new number and he will wear one that he has already worn previously in his career.

Christos Tzolis to wear number 17 for Arsenal

Tzolis has opted to wear number 17 for his new club, having previously donned the digits twice in his career.

He wore the shirt for Greece during the 2020/21 season and also when representing PAOK's Under-19 side in UEFA competition in the 2019/20 campaign.

The Greek international becomes the 11th player to wear the number for Arsenal in the Premier League era. Oleksandr Zinchenko was the latest to occupy it, having switched from 35 in 2024, but vacated the shirt when he moved to Ajax in January.

Unusually for a winger, he had worn number eight throughout his time at Club Brugge and that proved to be very successful for him as he scored 43 goals and provided 45 assists in 108 appearances, winning the Belgian Cup in 2025 and the Belgian Pro League in 2026.

However, that shirt was unavailable at Arsenal as it is currently occupied by club captain Martin Ødegaard, who has worn it since making a permanent move to North London in 2021. He had previously worn number 11 during his six-month loan spell.

With Tzolis being viewed as a direct replacement for Leandro Trossard, who brought an end to his three-and-a-half year spell with the Gunners to join Beşiktaş last week, many felt he would take the number 19 shirt the Belgian had worn, but he opted against that. He had previously donned that number during a season-long loan spell at FC Twente in the 2022/23 campaign.

It is always a nice bit of trivia for fans to know what shirt number a new signing will wear for their club and some will even be looking to add 'Tzolis #17' to their collection of Arsenal jerseys, but the main priority of all supporters will be how he performs on the pitch.

Tzolis isn't the big name world class signing Gunners fans had hoped for, but he brings plenty of talent and promise to Mikel Arteta's Premier League champions and he will be eager to add a bright spark and something new to the Spaniard's attacking setup. Whatever role he plays in North London, the Greek will do so while wearing the number 17.

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