Arsenal have completed the signing of Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa, the Premier League champions have confirmed. The fee is understood to be a fixed £51m, with a further £4m in potential add-ons that could take the total to around £55m. Arsenal's opening bid of £30m was rejected by Villa earlier in the summer, and the two clubs settled on a deal this week after Villa had been holding out for closer to £60m. Arsenal had also considered a move for Bayer Leverkusen's Jarrell Quansah, Konsa's England team-mate at the World Cup, before agreeing terms with Villa.
Konsa, 28, has signed a four-year contract with the option of an additional year, after passing a medical. He becomes Arsenal's fifth major signing of the summer, following the permanent arrival of Piero Hincapié from Bayer Leverkusen and the signings of Illan Meslier, Christos Tzolis and Bruno Guimarães.
The move addresses a defensive injury crisis at the champions. William Saliba is out for an extended period after a back injury that also ended his World Cup with France early, and Jurriën Timber remains sidelined with a groin problem that forced him out of the Netherlands' World Cup squad. That has left Ben White as Arsenal's only fit right-back and 21-year-old Cristhian Mosquera as the only right-sided centre-back able to partner Gabriel Magalhães. Mikel Arteta is reluctant to field two left-footed centre-backs, which would be the outcome if White were injured and Mosquera had to cover at right-back. Konsa, comfortable at both centre-back and right-back, will not feature against Coventry City in Arsenal's title-defence opener on Friday, but could make his debut against his former club at Villa Park on August 31.
"It's a privilege to be here and can't wait to get started," Konsa said. "It's a proud moment for me and my family to play for one of the best teams in the world. I want to keep winning, hungry to win and that's what I'm here for. I'm here to win. I'll do everything in my power to continue bringing success to this club."