Bid prepared: Arsenal step up interest in signing England star - not Morgan Rogers | OneFootball

Arsenal are reportedly stepping up their interest in Ezri Konsa and could be set to launch a bid for the Aston Villa and England defender.

Konsa has impressed at Villa Park and has also done well with the England national team at this summer’s World Cup 2026.

The 28-year-old has two years left on his Villa contract and it seems his future could now be in some doubt as the Gunners are preparing to make a move, according to the Daily Mail.

This follows our report earlier today which stated that Arsenal are eyeing Konsa and also West Ham’s Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Mikel Arteta will likely be keen to add more depth to his defence at the moment following William Saliba’s injury that forced him off in France’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain.

Ezri Konsa to help fill William Saliba void?

Saliba is one of Arsenal’s most important players, so they won’t want to be without him for too long, with the club yet to confirm how serious his back problem is, despite reports in the French press that he could be facing four or five months out.

Either way, it looks like AFC will need more options in that area of their squad, and Konsa looks like someone who could do well as a backup, even if he’s perhaps unlikely to ever be a starter at the Emirates Stadium.

Once Saliba is back to full fitness, he and Gabriel Magalhaes will surely continue as Arteta’s first-choice central defensive partnership for the foreseeable future.

The duo have been rock solid together and while the depth Konsa would provide is useful, it would take something special from him to keep either of those two out of the starting line up.

Villa will no doubt hope to keep hold of Konsa after his key role in Unai Emery’s side, but they’ve often had to sell players to keep in line with PSR laws.