Arteta Discusses Arsenal's Move for Konsa Amid Defensive Crisis

Mikel Arteta did not say Ezri Konsa’s name. He did not need to.

With William Saliba facing a long spell out and Jurrien Timber still missing, Arsenal’s manager laid bare exactly why the club has moved hard and fast for the Aston Villa defender, whose £51million switch – plus add-ons – is on the brink of being confirmed.

Konsa spent Thursday at Arsenal’s training ground undergoing a medical after the clubs agreed the fee for the 28-year-old. The timing is tight: he is not expected to feature in the Premier League opener against Coventry, but the script almost writes itself. His first appearance could come a week later, at Villa Park, against the club that turned him into an England international-calibre defender.

Arteta will not publicly cross the final line until the paperwork is done, yet his message was unmistakable: Arsenal had no choice but to act.

“We are really active in the market, I mentioned that a few days ago,” he said in his press conference on Thursday. “The ambition is to improve the squad. Obviously we have a really specific issue in the back line, especially with the long-term injury with Willy and the fact that we miss one more defender.

“That’s clear so we are trying to reinforce that area. Whenever we’re ready, we’ll announce something.

“We are willing to improve that area and we’re going to try our best to achieve that.”

The pressure finally told this summer. Arsenal always intended to add a defender, but Saliba’s setback and Timber’s continued absence turned a priority into an emergency. Until Konsa’s arrival, Arteta had been walking a tightrope, banking on Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera to stay fit and available.

One more injury and he would have been back to improvisation.

Last season provided the warning. Arsenal ran out of options at right-back in the run-in, with Mosquera pushed into heavy duty at full-back and Declan Rice even dropping in as a makeshift defender when required. The team coped, but it came at a cost to balance and rhythm.

Arteta sounds determined not to repeat that mistake.

“I would like to have the squad as big as possible because we know what we are fighting for, how long this is,” he said. “I will learn again from the past, especially last year, when we got in some difficulties, especially when we had two or three injuries in the same area of the pitch.”

This is the context into which Konsa steps: a big fee, a clear role, and a manager who has been burned before by a thin defensive unit. The deal is not yet announced, but Arsenal’s intent is already written all over their back line.