Английн шигшээ багийн хамгаалагч Эзри Конса Астон Вилла-аас Арсенал-д нэгдэж, дөрвөн жилийн гэрээ байгууллаа.
Арсенал 28 настай төвийн хамгаалагч Эзри Консаг 51 сая фунт стерлингээр худалдан авч, нэмэлт нөхцөлүүдийн хүрээнд дахин 4 сая фунт стерлинг төлөхөөр тохиролцлоо. Тоглогч эмнэлгийн үзлэгт хамрагдсаны дараа Лондоны багтай дөрвөн жилийн гэрээ байгуулсан бөгөөд гэрээг нэг жилээр сунгах сонголттой юм. 2019 оноос хойш Астон Вилла-д 286 тоглолт хийсэн Конса нь энэ зуны Дэлхийн аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээнд Томас Тухелийн удирдлага дор хагас шигшээд шалгарсан Английн шигшээ багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд багтаж байв.
Арсенал энэ зун Кристос Цолис, Бруно Гимарайнш, Иллан Мелье нарыг эгнээндээ нэгтгэж, бүрэлдэхүүнээ хүчирхэгжүүлээд байна. Харин Астон Вилла-ын хувьд Консагаас гадна Морган Рожерс, Лукас Динь, Юри Тилеманс нар багаа орхиод байгаа юм.
Арсеналын дасгалжуулагч Микель Артета Вильям Салибагийн бэртэл болон багийн хамгаалалтын бүсийг зузаатгах шаардлагатай байсан тул Консаг сонгосон нь багийн түрүүгээ хамгаалах зорилготой шууд холбоотой гэж мэргэжилтнүүд дүгнэж байна. Конса нь төвийн хамгаалагчаас гадна баруун жигүүрийн хамгаалагчийн байрлалд тоглох чадвартай нь багт нэмэлт хувилбар болно. Арсенал Премьер лигийн нээлтийн тоглолтоо баасан гарагт Эмирэйтс цэнгэлдэхэд Ковентри Сити-ийн эсрэг хийх бол Астон Вилла ням гарагт Брайтон & Хов Альбион-ы талбайд зочлох хуваарьтай байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Ezri Konsa has completed a move to Arsenal from Aston Villa in a deal worth £51million plus £4m in potential add-ons.
The England international has signed a four-year contract with the option of a further year, having undergone a medical with the north London club.
The Athletic reported on August 19 that the Premier League champions were closing in on a deal to sign the 28-year-old centre-back.
Konsa has made 286 appearances for Villa since joining from Brentford in 2019. He has also made 28 appearances for the England national team.
The defender was an important member of Thomas Tuchel’s squad which reached the World Cup semi-finals this summer. He started every match until the 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the last-four stage, when he appeared as a 72nd-minute substitute.
Arsenal have already completed the signings of Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge and Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United this summer, as well as signing former Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier as a free agent.
Konsa joins a list of important first-team players to depart Villa Park this season. Morgan Rogers has departed for Chelsea, Lucas Digne rejoined Paris Saint-Germain and Youri Tielemans left for Manchester United while speculation continues over the futures of Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins.
Arsenal start the defence of their Premier League title against newly-promoted Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium on Friday, while Aston Villa begin their 2026/27 Premier League campaign with a trip to the Amex to face Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Arsenal’s title ambitions are clear
Analysis by Arsenal correspondent Art de Roche
Arsenal’s summer-long interest in Konsa after Saliba’s back injury was a sign of Mikel Arteta’s desire to be well stacked with quality options across the pitch throughout the course of the 2026-27 season.
The Arsenal manager could have used Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White as covering centre-backs in Saliba’s absence, but Timber not yet returning from his groin injury may have made the backline a more pressing issue.
Speaking ahead of their Community Shield win over Manchester City, Arteta said: “We want to improve and evolve the squad. In order to do that we have detected some areas that can be strengthened and that is what we are trying to do.”
Reports of Arsenal’s interest in Konsa were met with debate as to whether a 28-year-old centre-back would be necessary at a relatively high price point when they had shown interest in other defensive profiles at the start of the window.
To push forward with Konsa, however, may give an indication of how seriously Arteta is taking Arsenal’s title defence. Rather than looking at a younger profile, he is going after yet another experienced Premier League player who should have few issues plugging into his system.
Even with the upsides of the potential signing, Konsa’s game-time when Saliba returns will be interesting to watch. Saliba will no doubt be eased back into action, but when he is in the flow, what happens to Konsa?
Konsa can play at right-back too, which will be seen as a major benefit, but he is also accustomed to playing 80-90 per cent of Aston Villa’s minutes in a season. A chance to be part of Arsenal’s hunt for trophies may soften any qualms about game-time later in the season, however.
