Why Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa could be the perfect cover for William Saliba at Arsenal

[p]Initial reports suggest that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saliba-william/EgIM3sB7/"]Saliba[/a] could well be out for months if surgery is required, and that means [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arteta-mikel/lAbHYaQM/"]Mikel Arteta[/a] and his backroom staff need to move swiftly in the transfer market if they want to find a replacement.[/p][h2]Will Unai Emery want to sell two players to Arsenal this summer?[/h2][p]The Spaniard has held an interest in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aston-villa/W00wmLO0/"]Aston Villa[/a]'s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/konsa-ezri/4CQLQWTa/"]Ezri Konsa[/a], and is likely to step up the Gunners' efforts to land him, albeit any pursuit could be complicated by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a]'s long-term courting of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rogers-morgan/lp4jm80n/"]Morgan Rogers[/a].[/p][p]Unai Emery is likely to be loath to lose two of his experienced pros to his former club, with any deal potentially coming down to how much is on the table and the will of the players themselves.[/p][embed guid="67625694-eab0-450d-84b8-f54bf3853aa3" url="https://x.com/England/status/2077491986735542312" social-type="twitter" /][p]Both Rogers and Konsa formed part of Thomas Tuchel's England squad and are unlikely to come cheaply, and Arteta will understand the urgency with which any negotiations need to progress.[/p][p]With [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saka-bukayo/08NLEo06/"]Bukayo Saka[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rice-declan/zkQ8Cm6n/"]Declan Rice[/a] also set to be given extended time off after England's game against France, Arsenal could be looking at weeks (at best) before at least two of their major stars are back in training, bringing the North Londoners' transfer business into even sharper focus.[/p][h2]How has Ezri Konsa performed?[/h2][p]There's been no word as yet from either Aston Villa, Emery or Konsa as to the current rumours, but how well did the defender perform over the past 12 months, in order to pique Arteta's interest?[/p][p]With 4,170 cumulative minutes played across 48 games, 46 of which he started, only Rogers' 4,562 minutes surpassed Konsa's total, evidencing a clear importance to his club side.[/p][image alt="Ezri Konsa touch map - Premier League 2025/26" id="f9cfe4b7-78ba-4b0d-8dee-8ab057fe5933" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="1fd738e1-dcf7-4fa1-8710-9b6001f5dfce" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]Of those players who can be considered regular first-teamers, Konsa was also the only player not to have been substituted in any game in which he played, coming on as a sub in two matches.[/p][p]The centre-back helped Villa keep 15 clean sheets across the 2025/26 campaign, and no other Villa player was involved in more games where the opposition was kept at bay.[/p][embed guid="e911fcae-df24-4762-902f-1db16fa3aa31" url="https://x.com/EzriKonsa/status/2057455807101391189" social-type="twitter" /][p]What might surprise many is that Konsa only attempted 30 tackles across the course of the season, and won just 13 of them, to give him a low 43.33% success rating.[/p][p]He did make at least 54 more clearances than anyone else, however, with his 164 streets ahead of second-placed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/torres-pau-francisco/AVUHg8JU/"]Pau Torres[/a] (110). [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cash-matty/hfxPh7Kn/"]Matty Cash[/a] (103) was the only other Villa player to break the 100 mark in this regard.[/p][h2]Brilliant at winning back possession[/h2][p]In terms of headed clearances, here too Konsa was unbeatable, making 77 across all competitions, and he also managed to win back possession on 161 separate occasions, which only Rogers could improve upon.[/p][p]The same two players were ahead of the pack when it came to winning possession back in the middle third of the pitch, Rogers' 78 successful attempts slightly ahead of Konsa's 72.[/p][image alt="Ezri Konsa radar graphic - Premier League 2025/26" id="0f2caa65-b8ce-400b-94cc-57ed7d66d40c" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="b5a22484-c8cb-4f3b-8080-9f9249d7db19" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]Despite his combative nature, the latter's sense of fair play was largely intact for most of the season, given that he only received one yellow card (and one red), for one of the best disciplinary records in the Villa squad.[/p][p]That's an important metric for Arteta to consider, because no manager wants to be left without his regular players because of their own stupidity or recklessness.[/p][h2]Immaculate pass completion[/h2][p]Although his 216 attempted one-on-one duels put him firmly in the pack at Villa in terms of output, his 66.2% success is one of the best returns in the squad. [/p][p]42 headed duels won out of 82 contested is also a more-than-reasonable effort, though one which Arteta would surely want him to improve upon, were he to be signed.[/p][p]With Arsenal feted for their passing and movement, any new signings clearly need to get up to speed in this regard, and therefore, Konsa's astonishing 95.02% pass completion is reason enough to be excited about his potential capture.[/p][image alt="Ezri Konsa pass map - Premier League 2025/26" id="408b6f99-0192-4ebd-944c-b094545332ae" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="71c415e6-23f2-4539-9793-dab9c0773649" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]Not only was it the best percentage in the entire Villa squad, but his 2,873 passes attempted and 2,730 completed were also the top showing.[/p][p]To give some idea as to how comfortable he is on the ball, even when under pressure, Konsa made 1,898 successful passes in his own half, with only 60 going astray.[/p][p]It's clear then that the 28-year-old has all of the attributes to be a success at the Emirates Stadium, with the only question marks being whether Villa would be willing to sell him and whether Arsenal could afford him.[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]