Arsenal agree £51m Konsa deal
Arsenal have agreed a £51m deal to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa.
The Premier League champions have been keen to find defensive cover for William Saliba and Jurriën Timber, who are out with injuries. They have tracked Konsa throughout the summer and have made a breakthrough in the negotiations.
Mikel Arteta hopes Konsa, whose Villa contract has two years to run, can make light of Saliba’s absence in central defence.
The timeframe for the Frenchman’s return is unclear but he is not expected to play before mid-October, having sustained a back injury in France’s World Cup semi-final defeat against Spain.
Konsa’s appeal is bolstered by the fact he can also play at right-back, where Timber is battling to return from a groin injury which has affected him for months.
Konsa starred for England on their run to the World Cup semi-finals.
A fixture in Villa’s successful team, the 28-year-old will encounter fierce competition at Arsenal, especially when Saliba is fit.
Arteta rates Saliba’s partnership with Gabriel Magalhães as the best in England but he thinks the addition of a player of Konsa’s calibre is a signal of Arsenal’s desire to build on their title success of last season and dominate.
The manager knows that his team played 63 matches in all competitions last season, which included runs to the Champions League and Carabao Cup finals, and he hopes to have a similar number this time out.
As such, he believes he will be able to give Konsa the minutes he would expect, particularly when injuries are factored in.
Arteta is also determined to have more high-quality options so that he can better rotate. At present, he has eight defenders, including Myles Lewis-Skelly, who can play in midfield.
Konsa joined Villa from Brentford in 2019 and has been central to their rise up the Premier League table under Unai Emery.
He has made 286 appearances for them and was a part of the team that won the Europa League last season. Arsenal kick off the new season at home to Coventry on Friday night.-Guardian
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