Arsenal have wrapped up a deal to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa for £51 million, ending weeks of uncertainty around the England defender's future. Mikel Arteta's side moved quickly to secure the 28-year-old as they look to shore up a defence stretched dangerously thin by injury.
Both William Saliba and Jurrien Timber are sidelined heading into the new Premier League season, leaving Arsenal without two of their first-choice defensive options from the off. Arteta had explored a move for Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah, but it was Konsa who won out — a player just as comfortable operating at centre-back as he is at right-back, and one Arsenal believe can cover both roles at the highest level without missing a beat.
Villa held firm at £60 million for some time, but the clubs found middle ground on Thursday and shook hands on a compromise fee. Konsa was the Premier League's best defender in ground duels last season, finishing well ahead of Virgil van Dijk and Gabriel in that metric. For a manager who prizes hard-nosed defensive work above almost everything else, the fit could not be neater. Arsenal also handed him the number 15 shirt, a sign of exactly how much they value what he brings.
Because the deal was finalised after Thursday's midday registration deadline, Konsa missed Arsenal's Premier League opener against Coventry on Friday. His debut is now expected to come on August 31, when the Gunners travel to Villa Park in what will be a particularly charged Monday Night Football occasion. Back at Aston Villa, Unai Emery's side have already started looking for a replacement, with AC Milan's Fikayo Tomori and Chelsea's Tosin Adarabioyo both emerging as potential targets to fill the gap left by the departing vice-captain.
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