With William Saliba and Jurrien Timber sidelined through injury, Arsenal were forced to search for another defensive reinforcement and fill the gap in their back line.At first, Jarell Quansah was rumoured to be the chosen one, but, as it stands, it will be another England international – Ezri Konsa.According to The Athletic, the Aston Villa defender is closing in on a move to the Emirates Stadium, where he is supposed to become one of the final pieces in Mikel Arteta's puzzle for the upcoming season.Arsenal confident on agreeing a fee to sign Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa.Club-to-club talks now advanced. Big gulf in valuation earlier this summer as Villa asked for £60m+ and Arsenal bid £30m, but parties expected to reach an agreement.Konsa always the top target despite… pic.twitter.com/Ij3ximLy9a— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 19, 2026 The Birmingham club initially demanded €70 million, while the Gunners offered half as much. In the end, the two parties are reportedly set to meet somewhere in the middle, with a fee of around €60 million plus add-ons agreed.Konsa is set to take his medicals tomorrow and once the transfer is completed, Arteta will get a versatile defender capable of playing equally well at both centre-back and right-back. The 28-year-old's arrival will ease the workload on the two remaining natural central defenders, Gabriel Magalhaes and Cristhian Mosquera, while also providing cover for a pair of multi-purpose backline players, Piero Hincapie and Ben White.Galata: Martinelli? Arsenal: Osimhen?Konsa took his first football steps at Charlton Athletic's academy, where he spent the maiden two seasons of his senior career. In July 2018, he joined Brentford for €2.85 million before moving to Villa Park just a year later for €13.3 million.During his seven years in Birmingham, he made 286 appearances for Aston Villa and scored 12 goals.##NAJAVA_MECA_9901502##Konsa has been an England international since March 2024, representing the Three Lions 28 times.He was part of Thomas Tuchel's 2026 World Cup squad, starting every game the national team played, except for the semi-final clash against Argentina, when he clocked 18 minutes.In a 6-4 win over France in the third-place play-off match, Konsa scored the second goal for England.
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