Guimaraes endures, Tzolis shines: How Arsenal's signings have performed so far

22 Sept 2026 18:06 BST |
7 min read

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Following the return of international football, Arsenal have three weeks to reflect on their start to the 2026-27 season.

Despite the heavy 3-0 loss at Brighton and Hove Albion, the Gunners have been strong in the opening weeks of the campaign.

With seven victories recorded across the Premier League, Carabao Cup and Champions League, including five clean sheets, Arsenal are in fine fettle.

However, how big of an impact have their five summer signings made in those seven victories across all competitions?

Here, FootballTransfers takes a look at how those new faces have performed for the Premier League champions so far this season.

Christos Tzolis (€40m, Club Brugge)

The only attacking reinforcement made by Arsenal in the summer transfer window, Christos Tzolis made an eye-catching start with his new club.

Tzolis recorded two assists as the Gunners laid down an early marker with a 3-0 win over Manchester City to win the Community Shield in August.

The Greece international then sparkled on his Premier League debut for Arsenal in the 3-0 win over Coventry City on the opening night of the season.

And Arsenal fans were purring once again when Tzolis recorded successive assists in the back-to-back wins over Chelsea and Napoli in early September.

However, the left winger was fairly quiet in his last two Premier League appearances against Sunderland and Brighton.

So far this season, Tzolis has completed just 16.7 per cent of his attempted dribbles, while he has also created just eight chances (joint-23rd most).

Illan Meslier (Free Transfer, Leeds United)

Despite making three appearances in pre-season, goalkeeper Illan Meslier is yet to make his competitive debut since joining Arsenal on a free transfer.

While Meslier was never going to replace No. 1 David Raya in the Premier League and Champions League, he may have hoped to feature in the Carabao Cup.

However, the former Leeds United shot-stopper watched on from the bench as Kepa Arrizabalaga strapped up the gloves for the 4-2 win at Ipswich Town.

Bruno Guimaraes (€87.5m, Newcastle United)

The second most expensive signing in Arsenal’s history, Bruno Guimaraes has been unable to make the ideal impact so far due to injury.

Guimaraes picked up an unfortunate groin problem in the Community Shield win over Man City, forcing him to miss the win over Coventry.

After cameo appearances against Aston Villa and Napoli, the Brazil international scored a screamer in the 2-0 league win at Sunderland.

Guimaraes returned to the starting lineup for the win at Ipswich, completing 86 per cent (59/69) of his attempted passes and making four tackles.

He was then preferred to the in-form Myles Lewis-Skelly for the loss at Brighton – a decision which has left many supporters scratching their heads.

However, while Guimaraes struggled alongside Declan Rice, Arsenal were collectively poor at the Amex Stadium, with Bukayo Saka the only Gunners star emerging with any credit.

Ezri Konsa (€59.6m, Aston Villa)

After making his debut as a substitute against former club Aston Villa, Ezri Konsa endeared himself to Arsenal fans in their next fixture.

Konsa took the ball and the man with a crunching tackle on England team-mate Morgan Rogers in the 2-1 league win over Chelsea.

Signed to cover the loss of injured defender William Saliba, Konsa helped Arsenal keep clean sheets in the wins over Napoli and Sunderland.

Konsa even clocked up 45+ minutes in the League Cup victory over Ipswich, completing every single one of his attempted passes (23/23).

However, Konsa was part of an Arsenal defence that shipped three goals at Brighton, despite him completing more passes than anyone else (66/67) on the south coast.

And so Konsa and centre-back partner Gabriel Magalhaes will look to respond when Arsenal entertain Leeds United on Saturday, 10 October.

Piero Hincapie (€40m, Bayer Leverkusen)

Piero Hincapie has endured a difficult start to the new season after his loan move from Bayer Leverkusen was turned into a permanent transfer.

The Ecuador international was absent from the win over Ipswich at Portman Road after sustaining a muscular injury in training.

And when Hincapie has been fit, the remarkable form of Riccardo Calafiori has meant Arteta has had little need to make a change at left-back.

After collecting 30 minutes in the Community Shield win over Man City, Hincapie has made just two other appearances so far this season.

Hincapie was a second-half substitute in the home win over Chelsea before being handed a starting berth for the trip to Napoli.

Up against Matteo Politano, Hincapie won 60 per cent (3/5) of his ground duels as Arsenal opened up their Champions League campaign with a win.

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Matthew Judge is a freelance sports writer from Liverpool, United Kingdom. He has worked for/had words published by WSL Football (WSL & WSL2), Everton Football Club, The Independent, Daily Mirror, Stats Perform, Goal and Squawka, among others.

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