Arsenal Pursues £51m Ezri Konsa Deal Amid Defensive Crisis

Mikel Arteta has lifted the lid on why Arsenal have pushed hard to bring Ezri Konsa to north London, with the defender’s move from Aston Villa on the brink of being confirmed.

Arsenal have agreed a fee of £51million plus add-ons for the 28-year-old, who was at the club’s training ground on Thursday to undergo his medical. The paperwork is all that really stands between Konsa and an official announcement.

He will not be rushed straight into action. Konsa is not expected to feature in the squad for Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Coventry, but all eyes are already on Villa Park a week later, where his debut could come against the club he is leaving behind.

Defensive crisis forces Arsenal’s hand

Arsenal always planned to strengthen at the back this summer. The situation turned from priority to necessity once William Saliba suffered a long-term injury and Jurrien Timber’s absence dragged on.

Arteta, speaking at his press conference on Thursday, chose his words carefully and stopped short of confirming Konsa’s arrival. Even so, he made it abundantly clear why the club have moved so decisively for a defender.

“We are really active in the market, I mentioned that a few days ago,” he said. “The ambition is to improve the squad. Obviously we have a really specific issue in the back line, especially with the long-term injury with Willy and the fact that we miss one more defender.

“That’s clear so we are trying to reinforce that area. Whenever we’re ready, we’ll announce something.

“We are willing to improve that area and we’re going to try our best to achieve that.”

Those injuries have left Arsenal walking a tightrope. Before the Konsa deal, Arteta was heavily reliant on Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera staying fit, hoping he would not be forced into tactical improvisation to plug gaps in defence.

Lessons from last season

Arteta’s urgency comes from experience. He does not want a repeat of last season, when a shortage at right-back in the run-in left Arsenal exposed.

Mosquera was often pushed into full-back duty, while Declan Rice was occasionally dragged out of midfield to cover as an emergency option. It worked at times, but it stretched the squad and blunted Arsenal’s balance.

That is not a gamble Arteta wants to take again.

“I would like to have the squad as big as possible because we know what we are fighting for, how long this is,” he said. “I will learn again from the past, especially last year, when we got in some difficulties, especially when we had two or three injuries in the same area of the pitch.”

Konsa’s arrival is designed to make sure those days of scrambling for solutions in the back line do not define Arsenal’s season again.