Could Ezri Konsa make his Arsenal debut against Aston Villa? And what are the implications for FPL?
While plenty of the transfer deals that get done before next Tuesday’s deadline will end up having a significant impact on the Fantasy Premier League season, few of them will be quite as consequential in the short term as Ezri Konsa’s £55m move to Arsenal – a deal which not only deepens an already impressive defence but gives FPL players a way into the top flight’s best back line on a budget.
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Konsa costs just £4.5m – an appropriate price, perhaps, for an Aston Villa centre-back with limited FPL pedigree, but much cheaper than any of his rivals for a place in the Arsenal starting line-up. Well over a million managers have already snapped him up. Millions more may follow.
The England international sat out Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Coventry City on the first day of the new season, but could be in the squad for the Gunners’ second game – which just so happens to come against Konsa’s former club. So will he play against Aston Villa, and should FPL players get him in their team ahead of Friday evening’s Gameweek 2 deadline?
Will Ezri Konsa play for Arsenal this weekend?
Konsa was presented to the crowd at the Emirates last Fridayplaceholder image
Konsa was presented to the crowd at the Emirates last Friday | Getty Images
Konsa’s absence from the matchday squad was no surprise – his transfer to the Emirates was only confirmed on that same day, and even if he had been registered in time there would have been little opportunity for him to prepare. Instead of playing, he settled for being presented to the crowd.
He could, however, be in line to make his debut against former side Aston Villa when Arsenal make the trip up to the Midlands on Monday evening – but a lack of match fitness means that his minutes remain in doubt.
Given an extended break by Aston Villa after his adventures with England at this summer’s World Cup, Konsa only returned to full team training a week before the season started and didn’t take part in any of his former team’s pre-season matches. He hasn’t played since the remarkable third-place play-off match against France in the middle of July.
Because of that, it’s relatively unlikely that Konsa goes straight into the starting XI – but he has taken part in Arsenal training this week, as confirmed on the club website, and the Gunners did not spend £55m on him to leave him on the bench once he’s up to speed.
The likelihood is that Konsa takes his place on the bench with Cristhian Mosquera getting the chance to start once more – but Konsa could come on at some stage in proceedings, and could very well take Mosquera’s place for the home game against Chelsea the following weekend.
Should FPL players sign Konsa?
Konsa hasn't played any football since the end of England's World Cup campaignplaceholder image
Konsa hasn't played any football since the end of England's World Cup campaign | Getty Images
In FPL terms, it’s almost impossible to ignore the scoring potential of an Arsenal defender who’s available at just £4.5m – other starting players in the same defence cost at least £5.5m. Konsa is excellent value, and as long as he’s a regular starter he is a player every player should consider owning for his value alone.
Konsa is unlikely to score as freely as Gabriel Magalhães did last season simply because he’s generally been less of a threat from set pieces – he didn’t score a single goal in 34 Premier League games last season – and isn’t typically the kind of defender who picks up high numbers of defensive contributions. But Arsenal’s overall defensive record is so strong that clean sheets should come with some frequency.
The Gunners comfortably led the Premier League in clean sheets last season and that should ensure a regular flow of six-pointers for Konsa for as long as he’s starting games – and that should be most of the time until William Saliba returns from injury.
Saliba aggravated a back injury while playing for France at the World Cup and is expected to be sidelined for around three months as a result. Konsa’s involvement past that point is hard to predict, but he should be a regular starter for the first third of the season or so.
That makes him an excellent asset for the foreseeable future and a player that all FPL players would be wise to work into their teams – but there’s no hurry, and it’s unlikely that it’s necessary to sign him ahead of Monday’s game against Aston Villa.