Official: Ezri Konsa joins Arsenal on a four-year deal in £55m move

Arsenal have completed the signing of Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa: a £51m fixed fee plus £4m in add-ons, on a four-year contract with the option of a further 12 months.

Sky Sports put it plainly: "Arsenal have completed the £55m deal to sign defender Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa." This closes out the club-to-club agreement reported on 20 August — the player has now passed a medical and signed.

The numbers

• Sky Sports: £51m fixed, £4m in add-ons, £55m total.
• ESPN: the clubs "agreed a deal in the region of £51 million ($69.4m), plus add-ons worth £4m."

On contract length, Sky Sports reports a four-year deal with the option of an additional 12 months. ESPN does not state a length, so that detail comes from one source only.

Why Arsenal needed a defender now

Per ESPN: "Konsa can play centre-back or right-back and will provide depth to Mikel Arteta's side with William Saliba and Jurriën Timber set to miss the start of the season with injury."

Arsenal have lost two defensive pieces at exactly the wrong moment. Konsa, 28, covers both roles.

One stat worth pausing on

Sky Sports notes that last season Konsa "won more duels on the ground than any other Premier League player last season - finishing quite some distance ahead of his nearest challengers Virgil van Dijk and Gabriel."

Gabriel is now his team-mate. Arsenal have signed the player who finished above their own first-choice centre-back in that category.

What Konsa and the sporting director said

Konsa, after Arsenal announced the move: "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."

On Arteta's style: "Defending. I know he loves defenders who can really defend and defenders who are calm on the ball. His style suits me so I can't wait to get going."

Sporting director Andrea Berta: "Ezri is a defender of high quality, whose athleticism, composure and tactical intelligence have established him as one of the Premier League's most consistent performers."

Sources: Sky Sports, ESPN. Officially announced by Arsenal at the time of publication.