Arsenal are closing in on a major move for Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, a transfer that further underlines the club’s current win-now approach.

According to The Athletic, the two clubs have already agreed an initial fee of $69.4 million, or £51 million at the time, with add-ons still to be determined. A medical is expected to be arranged for Thursday, with an official announcement likely to follow soon after.

If completed, the deal would push Arsenal’s summer spending beyond $250 million. Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis have already arrived, while Piero Hincapié’s loan has been turned permanent. Despite the focus on attacking additions elsewhere, Arsenal have continued to strengthen defensively.

That need was clear in Sunday’s Community Shield, when the bench reflected a shortage of options at the back. Hincapié was the only defender available to Arteta.

Konsa’s importance also comes from his versatility. Jurriën Timber is still recovering from a groin injury that is expected to keep him out for several more weeks, while William Saliba may be sidelined for months. In that context, Konsa offers cover across the defensive line.

Initially, the plan appears to be to use him on the right side. Ben White struggled for consistency last season, in part because he was overused while Timber was unavailable, and Arteta may see Konsa as a useful solution there.

Konsa did not play at right back for Villa last season, with all 48 appearances coming as one of two center backs. However, Thomas Tuchel used him as a fullback for England against Norway in a World Cup quarterfinal this summer. Andreas Schjelderup scored from that side, though Konsa could hardly be held responsible for a cross that flew into the top corner.

Once Timber is fit again after the first international break at the latest, Konsa may also be considered centrally. Cristhian Mosquera has done well in spells through the middle since joining Arsenal last summer, but Konsa would still represent an upgrade.

For all of that, Saliba and Gabriel remain the likely first-choice pairing when both are available. As Konsa himself said of Prince William: “He called me a Rolls-Royce once,” Konsa said of the King-in-waiting. “That got stuck in my head. I’ll take that all day. It was really nice.”

Only Manchester United have lifted the Community Shield more often than Arsenal, whose 2026 success was their 18th in the competition. It was another summer moment that hinted at ambition, but the league record that followed those wins has not always matched the occasion.

Since the Premier League began, Arsenal have collected nine Community Shield victories, and their seasons afterward have ranged from title challenges to frustration. The latest triumph came with Mikel Arteta’s side still carrying a sense of control and certainty that rivals may not fully share. Yet history shows that a strong afternoon at the season’s unofficial curtain-raiser has not guaranteed smooth progress once the league campaign begins.

Their first Premier League-era Shield win was a 3-0 defeat of Manchester United. Arsenal were then reigning champions, though not by a commanding margin, and they ended that league season one point behind United after a costly finish that included a penultimate-day loss at Leeds United. A slow start to the defence, with four draws in five and only three wins from eight, left them chasing.

The following year brought another Shield victory over United, this time 2-1, and Thierry Henry’s arrival from Juventus gave Arsenal extra edge. He finished his debut season with 26 goals in all competitions and 17 in the league, yet United still claimed the title with 91 points. Arsenal’s strong late run was not enough to close the gap.

There were more reminders in the years that followed. Arsenal lost a growing advantage in 2003-04, then endured the end of the Invincibles run and watched Chelsea set a new standard in 2004-05. Much later, a 3-0 Shield win over Man City in 2014 was followed by a third-place finish, while 2017-18 became Arsène Wenger’s final season and brought only 63 points.

More recently, Arteta’s side used a Shield win over Liverpool to steady themselves in 2020-21, before recovering from a poor spell to finish eighth. By 2022-23, they were again pushing hard near the top, and the draft points to a side once more capable of running City close.

Mikel Arteta has again pressed the Premier League to allow larger matchday squads, arguing that more players should be given the chance to be involved on the day. His latest comments came after Arsenal’s comfortable 3-0 win, when he said the absence of some squad members was disappointing.

“It’s really sad not to have their availability,” Arteta said to TNT Sports. “I’ve been fighting with the Premier League to extend and accommodate more players in the squad because they deserve to be in the squad, there’s no question.

“Ethan [Nwaneri] and Marli [Salmon] as well, who has had the whole preseason with us. Hopefully we can change that rule so players can enjoy on the pitch and can be an option to play and contribute to the team going forward.”

It is not the first time Arteta has raised the issue. In January, he made a similar argument and pointed to the “mental health” of players who train throughout the build-up but miss out on a place in the matchday group. Even so, the complaint sits uneasily with the reality that the Arsenal manager is dealing with a problem of his own squad depth, one that few other clubs would be eager to solve in the same way.

Arteta was allowed to name 20 players for Sunday’s Community Shield, but the Premier League limit remains 18. He has pushed for two extra spots, ideally to move closer to the numbers used in UEFA competitions such as the Champions League, though he would prefer even more options.

“You’re not even allowed to travel with the team,” he said earlier this year. “So tell me another job that you do that. I cannot go to the kitchen tomorrow and say to two other chefs today you don’t cook, just go there and see how they cook or go home. It’s really tough.”

There was no such concern from Enzo Maresca, who was able to call on Jack Grealish, a player who has not featured for City since May 2025.

If the league were to widen squads from 18 to 20, clubs with the strongest depth would benefit most. Arsenal, however, would be among the biggest winners. Using estimated transfer values for outfield players, the next two players in Arsenal’s pecking order would be worth around $43.5 million combined, ahead of Manchester City and Chelsea, and far above Tottenham Hotspur and several others across the division.

That measure places Arsenal clear of the rest, while even Manchester United and Liverpool begin to run into thinner options by the time they reach the 19th and 20th names. It is one reason Arteta is so keen to keep making his case.