Arsenal will commence their Premier League defence without William Saliba, who will be sidelined for the next few months after suffering a back injury while representing France at the World Cup earlier this summer.
His importance to the team means his layoff comes as disappointing news for Mikel Arteta, who is now expected to look into the transfer market for potential replacements for the 25-year-old prior to the start of next season.
Nicolo Schira has reported that Arsenal are interested in signing Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, who is one of the Premier League’s more seasoned centre backs, and has a contract with Unai Emery’s side until 2028.
Villa are looking to avoid losing the Englishman for cheap next year or free thereafter and have slapped Konsa with a £60 million price tag, as per Caught Offside, so the Londoners would need to pay a fair chunk of money to sign the player.
Konsa a top signing for Arsenal
Ezri Konsa has spent several years playing in the Premier League and with Aston Villa, he has also gained experience in the Champions League and Europa League, the latter of which he won last season while playing a crucial role.
Konsa is comfortable with the ball at his feet, can help build up play from the back, excels physically and has quick pace as well as positional intelligence. The 28-year-old also makes accurate, well-timed challenges and is reliable in one-on-one situations.
Besides being a natural centre back, he can also play as a right back, an attribute which Mikel Arteta could leverage over the course of the season with Jurrien Timber also spending the summer recovering from a groin injury.
It will be interesting to see if Arsenal are prepared to pay £60 million for Konsa’s signing when their top priority now if a left winger, but with his experience in English football and all-round attributes, he would be a decent investment for the Gunners.
