Arsenal sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa

Well, then. It was mere hours (if that) between The Athletic reporting that Arsenal and Aston Villa had made progress in negotiations over Ezri Konsa and David Ornstein confirming the clubs have reached an agreement. The 28-year old defender will move to North London for a £51M fee plus-addons. He’s already said his farewells to his Villa teammates and is scheduled for a medical on Thursday (tomorrow).

Arsenal have been pursuing Konsa for much of the summer as cover for William Saliba, who they’ve known would miss time to start the season. I’d bet contingency planning was in the works as soon as Saliba aggravated his back down the stretch last season. They knew he’d be likely to miss time after the World Cup and identified the England international as one of the primary targets. The Gunners also explored moving for 23-year old Jarell Quansah, but Bayer Leverkusen were not interested in selling.

The experienced Konsa can play both RCB and RB, although he’s more comfortable and effective in the middle. I’ll be interested to see who Mikel Arteta picks as the first-choice RCB, Cristhian Mosquera or Konsa, once the new man is integrated into the squad. Given what we know about Arteta, I’d bet he goes with experience.

In Konsa, Arsenal are getting excellent cover for William Saliba. The England international is a quality defender who relies on positioning and anticipation rather than aggression. He’s a strong passer capable of carrying the ball if needed. He’s been a Premier League starter for seven seasons and has Champions League experience.

If buying a 28-year old gives you pause, which it reasonably could, take comfort in the fact that Arsenal really did need cover on the right side of the defense. Even if Jurrien Timber were to return sooner rather than later, they were still short at RCB. Cristhian Mosquera has been solid, but there is a difference between being pleasantly surprising for a 22-year old who isn’t getting regular playing time and being the first-choice CB for a side looking to defend a Premier League title. That’s not intended as a knock on the Spanish CB — he’s a good player, a great buy, and looks as if he could have a future at the club. It’s simply an acknowledgment that Ezri Konsa is a better player and more suited to fill the immediate lineup need.

Arsenal are in win-now mode. They’ve got an excellent shot to win the league again this season. Not to get ahead of myself because things can change quickly in sport and luck is a fickle mistress, but there is a decent chance that Arsenal will be the dominant team in the Premier League for the next few years. Why not do all that you can to take home a few more trophies? Buying Ezri Konsa, particularly with William Saliba slated to miss a few months of the season, improves Arsenal’s odds this year.

That said, adding Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa to a squad with a prime / late-prime core throws the upcoming need for a squad refresh into even sharper relief. But I can guarantee you that if we can see that coming, the club can too. If the front office doesn’t navigate it well, there will be a bit of a reckoning three or four years from now. Even if they don’t get it right, how much will we care if Arsenal have brought home another trophy or two or three in the intervening years?

Clearly buying Ezri Konsa is first and foremost geared towards filling the gaping William Saliba shaped hole in the starting lineup for the early portion of the Premier League season. But he’ll be more than a high-quality, short-term fill-in. His addition means that Arsenal shouldn’t need to rush the Frenchman back nor over-exert him when he does return.

Additionally, think back to the minutes played disparity between Arsenal and PSG. For my money, that was the decisive factor in the Champions League final. Saliba was playing through a back injury. Jurrien Timber was only available as a sub and played through a groin problem that subsequently kept him out of the World Cup. Ben White was injured and unavailable. Again not to pick on Mosquera, but he made the critical error that conceded the tying penalty. Adding Ezri Konsa moves the team one step further away from those types of issues recurring at the business end of this season.

It’s not the flashiest, most exciting purchase, but they can’t all be. It’s a pragmatic one that fills a pressing need and gives the squad a better shot at winning for the next couple of years. Arsenal are pushing the chips in to win as much as they can with the core of this roster over the next couple of seasons, and I really don’t blame them!

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