Arsenal have a problem.
William Saliba is injured, with the timeline unclear.
Yet, the concern is real.
And the new Premier League season is approaching fast.
A centre-back is needed.
However, there’s one name who keeps coming up.
An England international who started every game of the World Cup in North America.
And who, crucially, has let it be known that he’d be interested in making the move.
Arsenal target Ezri Konsa interested in Emirates switch as Aston Villa set £60m asking price
According to CaughtOffside, Konsa is a genuine target for Arsenal this summer, and sources have confirmed the 28-year-old would be “interested” in a move to the Emirates should both clubs reach an agreement on a fee.
That fee is the central obstacle.
Aston Villa are holding firm at £60 million.
Thus, Arsenal consider that figure too high for a player entering the final stretch of his prime years.
But they haven’t left the race.
The Saliba injury has changed the calculus entirely.
Before it happened, Arsenal had been considering their defensive options with some patience, aware of the need to strengthen but not in any particular rush.
However, the injury created urgency that simply wasn’t there before.
Sources have described “real concern” over how long Saliba could be sidelined, and that concern has directly accelerated the Konsa pursuit, with internal talks about the move intensifying in the days since.
Yet, without a new signing, Mikel Arteta would be forced to move one of Piero Hincapie, Jurrien Timber, Ben White or Riccardo Calafiori into central defence.
None of those solutions is clean.
Konsa would be.
His World Cup campaign was outstanding.
Starting in the third-place play-off against France, performing with composure in the knockout rounds and confirming himself as one of England’s most reliable defensive options.
However, whether Arsenal can bridge the gap to Villa’s asking price is the only question left.
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