Premier League champions Arsenal host newly-promoted Coventry City in the opening match of the new season on Friday.
The Gunners cruised to a convincing 3-0 win over FA Cup holders Manchester City in the Community Shield in Cardiff on Sunday, and manager Mikel Arteta will be desperate to see his side kick off their title defence with a win against the Sky Blues.
One player that will miss Friday’s game at The Emirates, though, is defender William Saliba, who is set for an extended spell on the sidelines due to injury.
With that in mind, though, it has emerged that the north London side are close to completing a sensational move to sign an England defender.
As per The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Gunners are close to agreeing a deal to sign defender Ezri Konsa from Premier League rivals Aston Villa.
Konsa looks set to join Arsenal (Photo: Sportimage Ltd/Alamy)
Ornstein claims that the England international has been high on Arsenal’s list of transfer targets all summer as they have searched for defensive reinforcements, and talks are now progressing.
Discussions are said to have taken place at ownership level in order to reduce the gap between the two clubs’ respective valuations of the centre-back, who joined Villa from Brentford back in 2019.
In total, Konsa has played more than 285 times for the Villans across all competitions, as well as being capped 28 times by England at senior international level.
The defender has been a key player for Villa over the past few seasons, but he now looks increasingly likely to join Arsenal as they look to defend their Premier League crown this term.
Konsa’s contract at Villa Park isn’t set to expire until the end of the 2027/28 campaign, but he could move to The Emirates just days before the new season starts.
