Arsenal have agreed a deal worth in excess of £51m with Aston Villa to sign defender Ezri Konsa.

The Gunners made the England international their top defensive target to bolster their squad following an injury suffered by William Saliba during the World Cup, which is likely to rule him out of action for several months.

Mikel Arteta had made signing a new right-sided defender a priority for the transfer window ahead of the new Premier League season, as the north London side look to retain their title for the first time in their history, and Konsa is now understood to be on his way to the Emirates Stadium.

According to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, Arsenal and Aston Villa have agreed a fee worth £51m plus add-ons for the 28-year-old defender to switch clubs ahead of the opening game of the season.

Konsa has already said his goodbyes to Aston Villa teammates and staff ahead of the move, and is now expected to undergo a medical in London on Thursday, before putting pen to paper on a long-term contract.

It was reported earlier on Wednesday that the two clubs were close to an agreement, having closed the gap in valuation that was there earlier in the window, when Arsenal tabled a £30m bid. Aston Villa initially valued Konsa at £60m, and weren’t interested in dropping their price.

Arsenal had also been showing an interest in Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarrel Quansah as a potential alternative, but Konsa was always seen as the top target at the Emirates Stadium.

Now a deal has been agreed, and Konsa will look to compete for a starting spot for the champions alongside Gabriel Magalhaes, Saliba, and Cristhian Mosquera at centre-back, while Jurrien Timber and Ben White are the current right-back options.

‘Unbelievable’ Konsa Ready to Make an Impact

Photo courtesy of Reuters.

Konsa has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League in recent years, and his exit from Aston Villa will be a huge blow for the club as they prepare to return back to the Champions League this season.

But for Arsenal, who already had one of the best defences in Europe last season, they are now even stronger and will be even more difficult to beat, and that could be the difference between them finally being able to win the top European prize.

His performances at the World Cup earned him big praise too, with now former teammate Morgan Rogers describing him as ‘one of the best centre-backs in football’.

“Honestly, I don’t know a flaw in his game, and I think that’s helped Villa that probably a bigger club has not taken him in the last few years. I think that’s helped us, because I honestly don’t know a problem in his game, really.”

With just days to go until the 2026/27 Premier League starts, it’s quite remarkable that the case relating to Manchester City’s alleged Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches has not yet been resolved.

The Etihad club were charged with 115 breaches back in February 2023, but that number has since increased to 130. The hearing then ended in December 2024, but the public are none the wiser on how things will actually play out.

As eloquently summed up by The Telegraph journalist Oliver Brown: “Three Prime Ministers, five Foreign Secretaries and 32 Premier League managers have come and gone since 115 charges of alleged financial impropriety were first levelled against Manchester City. So have eight solar eclipses, four conjunctions of Venus and Jupiter, plus, most fittingly of all given the song that City fans sing so defiantly about their team, two blue moons.”

Man City now head into a fifth consecutive top-flight campaign with the charges hanging over them, and Premier League CEO Richard Masters has offered his honest thoughts on the matter.

Richard Masters Explains Lack of Information on Man City Charges

Manchester City corner flag via Reuters

Speaking to Sky News, Masters explained why he was unable to give any indication of how the trial played out while admitting that he ‘understands the frustrations’ regarding the delay in information. He said:

Many fans and even insiders expected the case to be resolved this summer, with a final verdict made clear to the public. However, as delays continue, it remains unclear how much longer it could be before any answers are actually given.

If found guilty, the shockwaves throughout English football would be massive. Some have speculated that Man City could be stripped of past titles, while there have been reports that Premier League rivals would then sue the Manchester club for compensation over potential lost earnings.

Why Chelsea’s Case Has Been Resolved Faster Than Man City Charges

Reuters/Peter Cziborra

Man City are not the only club to have been charged with breaching Premier League rules in recent times. One of the most notable cases saw Chelsea fined £10m and given a suspended transfer ban for breaching 74 rules relating to payment to agents.

While the severity of punishment, or lack of it, has sparked plenty of debate, the speed at which the case came to a close has also raised some questions. On that matter, Masters was able to explain why City’s alleged breaches have taken too much longer to resolve:

“In the situation with Chelsea, obviously it’s historic. It’s very different to PSR cases. In the case of Chelsea, the new owners came forward with all the information, and we decided to enter a sanction agreement.

“That sanction agreement was overseen by a commission as well, and part of the role of the commission is to assure that that sanction is not unduly lenient.

“I think the key difference is, given the evidence base and given the lack of witnesses, none of the people involved with these payments are still at the club, we’re not able to interview them, the evidence base isn’t complete.

“The alternative to entering the sanction agreement was to go down a contested commission route. I’m not sure we’d have been able to bring all of the charges that the club ultimately admitted to, or be successful in getting them, so I don’t think there was an easy choice for the board to make.

“We took a decision that the sanction agreement was the best thing for the league, and we’re fully aware that not everyone agrees that that was the right course of action, and we just have to accept that.”

It remains to be seen if Gianni Infantino will continue as FIFA president when the elections are held in March 2027. As things stand, he is under severe pressure, with many nations publicly withdrawing support.

The main cause of his growing unpopularity relates to Infantino’s scandalous plan to privatise the World Cup. His proposal was quickly rejected by the footballing world once made public. Even though the scheme has now been scrapped, the fallout has continued.

Most notably, UEFA have declared a loss of confidence and currently intends to have all members boycott any future FIFA tournaments. That said, there are some who have spoken out in public support of Infantino, with the likes of Qatar, the UAE (United Arab Emirates), Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Kuwait backing the FIFA boss.

Infantino Loses Support From Israel

As different nations make up their minds on supporting FIFA, Israel has become the latest FIFA member to announce where they stand on the matter. As reported by the Guardian, the Israel Football Association (IFA) will officially withdraw their support for Infantino’s re-election.

Israel have been a member of UEFA since 1994 and IFA head Moshe Zuares currently sits on the European governing body’s executive committee. As such, it’s not a surprise that they are set to vote against Infantino. Most, if not all, of the 55 members of UEFA will be expected to support a rival candidate in the next FIFA presidential elections, although it’s unclear who that will be just yet.

In a letter sent to FIFA, Zuares explained why Israel are withdrawing their support. The statement noted that recent events have triggered an “unprecedented crisis of confidence” between the visions of UEFA and FIFA when it comes to global governance. He added that the rift is “profound, substantive, and principled, and compelling all stakeholders to reconsider the path forward”.

Zuares then claimed that the decision was unanimously agreed upon after a meeting of the IFA’s board. He concluded:

Infantino Failed With Attempted Handshake Between Palestinian and Israeli Delegates

Gianni Infantino with Jibril Rajoub via REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

In May 2026, in the build-up to the summer World Cup, Infantino caused quite the stir as he attempted to orchestrate a handshake between the Palestinian and Israeli delegates at the 76th FIFA Congress. President of the Palestinian Football Federation, Jibril Rajoub, refused to stand alongside Israel FA vice-president Basim Sheikh Suliman when both were called to stand on the stage.

Palestinian FA Vice President Susan Shalabi later said Infantino’s attempt to have Suliman and Rajoub shake hands showed little consideration for the Palestinian FA chief’s speech, in which he made yet another plea for Israeli clubs not to base teams in ⁠the West Bank settlements.

“To be put in a position ⁠where to have a handshake after everything that was said, this negates the whole purpose of the speech that the general [Rajoub] was giving,” Shalabi said.

Amid the latest questions over Infatino’s presidency, Palestine’s FA released a statement in August in which they were very critical of FIFA. They explained: “Our concern is not who leads FIFA. Our concern is whether FIFA is once again prepared to lead by principle.”