Arsenal's decision to sign Konsa may seem surprising, given that they already have seven senior defenders on their books. However, the Gunners are looking to strengthen their defence, particularly with William Saliba and Jurrien Timber ruled out for an extended period and the opening weeks of the season respectively.
Saliba has been dealing with a long-term back issue, which ended his World Cup campaign with France early, while Timber has a groin problem that caused him to pull out of the Netherlands World Cup squad. This leaves Ben White and 21-year-old Cristhian Mosquera as the only fit right-back and right-sided centre-back to partner Gabriel Magalhaes.
Mikel Arteta does not seem to like fielding two left-footed players at centre-back, which would happen if White got injured and Mosquera had to move to right-back. To address this issue, Arteta has decided to sign Konsa, who is 28 and in the prime of his career. The England international centre-back lifted the Europa League with Villa last season and has impressive Premier League numbers, including the best ground duel success (73.1%) and best passing accuracy (95%) of all defenders last season.
Konsa's arrival will take this summer's outlay to over £150m, with the Gunners having already spent more than £100m on Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle (£75m) and Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge (£34m). Arteta has some of the best depth of quality in Europe to call on, in a squad worth £1.19bn according to Transfermarkt.
The signing of Konsa is part of Arsenal's ambition to be one of the global powerhouses in world football, as stated by chief executive Richard Garlick. The Gunners are actively exploring how to increase their revenue off the pitch and are looking at stadium expansion plans. They are still in the market for a forward and have a long-term interest in Julian Alvarez.
Arsenal's next step will be to complete the signing of Konsa, which is expected to be confirmed in the coming days.