New Gunner Christos Tzolis matches Beckham feat with two assists as Arsenal crush Man City in Community Shield

Christos Tzolis enjoyed a dream debut for Arsenal after helping the Gunners to Community Shield success against Manchester City.

Tzolis starred as Arsenal eased to a 3-0 win over the Cityzens at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, to seal the first silverware of the season.

The Greece international is a new arrival in North London, having signed for Club Brugge in a £34m deal earlier this summer. The 24-year-old scored 22 goals and provided 29 assists for the Belgian side last season and soon found himself in the thick of the action in South Wales.

Tzolis set up Kai Havertz for Arsenal's second goal of the game, nodding back across goal for the German to head home. The left-winger was the provider again as Arsenal made it three-nil, teeing up Martin Odegaard to put the result beyond doubt.

In the process, Tzolis became the first footballer in 30 years to assist two goals in a Community Shield fixture. The previous player to achieve the feat was David Beckham, who recorded two assists for Manchester United against Newcastle United in 1996.

He also became the Arsenal player to assist two or more goals on his debut since Willian in September 2020.

Arteta hails 'smart' Christos Tzolis after dream debut for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta was full of praise for the new arrival, praising Tzolis' for his intelligence and decision-making in the final third. The winger's performance continued an impressive pre-season, ahead of next week's season-opener against Coventry City.

"He's accommodated into the team and his level of understanding as a player - I think he makes a lot of decision that other people rush," the Arsenal manager said to TNT Sports.

"He's very smart, very accurate and again today, in tight spaces, he made the right decisions and he assisted two goals."