What Arsenal think about Ezri Konsa’s fitness after defender completes move

Ezri Konsa is now an Arsenal player.

Although the club are yet to officially announce it at the time of writing, David Ornstein has confirmed that the signing is complete.

Konsa joins in a £51million move from Aston Villa, plus £4million in potential add-ons, signing a four-year contract with the option of a further year.

After a long drawn-out pursuit, involving Josh Kroenke’s personal intervention at ownership level and weeks of valuation disputes, it is done.

As an experienced, Premier League-proven, versatile defender, Konsa fits exactly the profile of defender Mikel Arteta wanted.

But one detail that has emerged regarding Konsa’s fitness that is worth flagging.

When Arsenal expect Ezri Konsa to be ready to play

Konsa joins the Premier League champions some way behind in his preparations.

Unai Emery gave him — along with Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins — an extended break following the World Cup. He only returned to training late last week.

According to The Athletic, while Konsa has kept up his fitness during the lay-off, the expectation inside Arsenal is that it will take him a little time to get up to speed.

The target for his Arsenal debut is the second league game of the season which, ironically, is away at Aston Villa on August 31.

That is an added bonus of the Konsa signing — the fact that they are getting a really tricky away fixture out the way early at a time where Villa are significantly weakened.

Konsa joins Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Morgan Rogers out the exit door, while speculation continues about the futures of Martinez and Watkins.

Now Konsa could make his Arsenal debut at Villa Park, in front of the fans who adored him for seven years. That’s if he is ready in time.

The Coventry game tonight comes too soon, but facing his former club feels like the perfect stage for his first appearance in the Arsenal shirt.