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Arsenal are looking to take a radical approach to dealing with William Saliba's long-term injury lay-off by spending big money on an established Premier League defender.
Reports emerged on Wednesday indicating that the Gunners have reignited their interest in Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa. While Andrea Berta isn't willing to meet Villa's hefty £60 million valuation of the England international, he is prepared to lodge an improved bid after failing with a £30 million offer earlier this summer.
Konsa now appears to be Arsenal's primary defensive target, and it looks increasingly likely that the deal will get done before the window is up in a few weeks.
With that said, here are the five Arsenal players who would be impacted the most by the signing of Konsa.
Winners from Arsenal signing Ezri Konsa
William Saliba
William Saliba has been crying out for more rest for several seasons now. While players of his calibre are rarely granted days off throughout the season, Arsenal ran the Frenchman into the ground, and they've paid the price - he'll miss at least the opening two months of the new season.
However, when he's back, the situation could look very different. With Konsa in Arteta's ranks, the Spanish boss won't need to rely on Saliba in every minute of every important game. The Englishman, alongside Cristhian Mosquera, will provide Saliba with the cover he needs to ensure he doesn't burn out and sustain another serious injury in the future.
Gabriel Magalhaes
Like Saliba, Gabriel has been overplayed in recent seasons and needs more rest. An extra body in Konsa will provide him with this additional time on the sidelines.
However, Konsa's arrival will benefit Gabriel in the short-term as well. The Brazilian is too similar to Mosquera in terms of his aggression and needs a cooler and more composed defender alongside him. Konsa shares similar traits to Saliba in that he's outstanding at sweeping up behind the defence, rather than being an aggressor.
This means that, at least on paper, Gabriel will have a more natural partner to play alongside him whilst Saliba is out, rather than being deployed next to a player more similar to him in Mosquera.
Ben White
With Saliba out, all the signs were pointing towards Ben White playing some minutes at centre-back this season. Mosquera cannot player every single minute of every single game over the next few months, and thus, White would have been drafted into this role from time to time.
However, Konsa's presence will negate the need for this positional change for the full-back. This will allow White to focus on playing in the role he's mastered in recent seasons, while protectin his increasingly fragile body, as he won't be required in multiple positions, reducing his overall load.
Losers from Arsenal signing Ezri Konsa
Cristhian Mosquera
While the arrival of Konsa is good for Mosquera in one sense, as it means he won't be overburdened with minutes in the first few months of the campaign, it's not good for him long-term.
The Spaniard was likely looking forward to the opportunity to dominate the right centre-back role for the first half of next season. This could've been a turning point in his career in terms of going from an adequate back-up option to a genuine contended to start every match.
However, the Arsenal hierarchy clearly don't quite trust Mosquera to fulfil this role and instead feel they need to delve into the market to find a short-term replacement for Saliba. This isn't ideal for his long-term credentials, as he'll find himself further down the pecking order once the 25-year-old returns from injury.
Marli Salmon
Marli Salmon likely isn't expecting to play a particularly prominent role in the Arsenal first team next season, despite impressing in recent friendly matches.
That said, like Mosquera, he might have sensed an opportunity to play more minutes than he'd initially have expected after news broke of Saliba's injury. The odd substitute appearance and League Cup start was genuinely on the cards - he'd oestensibly have been Arsenal's sixth choice defender for the time being.
However, Konsa's arrival will push him back one peg in the pecking order and provide him with another player he has to fend off in the long-term.
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