Arsenal have agreed a £51m deal to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa. Arsenal are currently looking for a new defender with William Saliba out for an extended period of time, with Jurrien Timber also sidelined with a long-term groin problem. The Gunners' interest in Konsa has lasted all summer with Villa initially valuing him at £60m - a valuation Arsenal were unwilling to meet.
The 28-year-old, who had two years remaining on his contract at Villa, was not part of Unai Emery's squad for the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last week. If there's one thing you need to know about Mikel Arteta, it's that he loves players that win duels. Nobody was better at it than Ezri Konsa last season.
The England international won more duels on the ground than any other Premier League player last season - finishing quite some distance ahead of his nearest challengers Virgil van Dijk and Gabriel - who looks set to be his team-mate next season. Arsenal are in need of defensive reinforcement this summer with both William Saliba and Jurrien Timber both out injured, so need a player who can cover both right-back and centre-back roles. The Gunners do have Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White as cover in those roles - and both performed well in the Community Shield win over Manchester City - but the latter has a difficult injury record over the last two seasons.
Arsenal also saw the importance of having good depth at right-back when Mosquera was forced to start the Champions League final with PSG out of position - which then resulted in the young Spaniard conceding a penalty. Should a move for Konsa be completed, Arsenal have filled an important part of their team - and would be very close to completing their transfer window from an incomings point of view. Can they find the forward player they have been looking the whole window for?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Arteta is excited to keep building Arsenal after their Premier League win, vowing to make them "the best club in the world". "It's certainly the ambition of the club and the owners to be the best club in the world," he told Sky Sports at a Premier League launch event ahead of their Friday night opener against Coventry, live on Sky. "In order to do that, you need the best facilities, the best stadium, the best supporters, and you need the best squad and the best players in the world.
"Those are the ones that win you football matches and the ones that can be decisive when it matters. "That's what we try to build with the actual players that we have, and with the players that we want to sign to make the difference for Arsenal." Arsenal go into the season as outright favourites to retain their title, with that status further underlined by their comfortable 3-0 win over Manchester City in Sunday's Community Shield. Arteta, however, says he is more than comfortable with the position of being the frontrunners.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
