Arsenal have agreed a £51m deal to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa.

The Premier League champions have been looking for a new defender with William Saliba out for an extended period of time and Jurrien Timber also sidelined with a long-term groin problem.

Arsenal looked into a potential deal for Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah but have chosen to advance with a move for his England team-mate Konsa. Both players have a similar profile and can play at right-back and centre-back.

Villa had initially held out for £60m, with Arsenal hoping to pay much less, but the two clubs found a compromise on Thursday to strike a deal for the 28-year-old.

• Transfer Centre LIVE! | Arsenal news & transfers🔴⚪
• Arsenal fixtures & scores | FREE Arsenal highlights▶️
• Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
• Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream PL games with no contract📺

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Konsa must be registered by midday on Thursday to be available for Arsenal's Premier League opener against Coventry, live on Sky Sports, on Friday.

If not ready for this weekend, Konsa could make his Premier League debut for Arsenal at Aston Villa, live on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football on August 31.

Villa boss Unai Emery had given the England international - and his other players that reached the late stages of the World Cup - an extended, four-week break after the tournament.

Konsa has not yet featured for Aston Villa in pre-season as a result, missing the Super Cup and Saturday's friendly with Borussia Monchengladbach.

Villa, meanwhile, have an interest in Tosin Adarabioyo at Chelsea as a potential replacement for Konsa.

Chelsea are now ready to listen to offers for Tosin, who also has interest from Marseille, Benfica and Sevilla.

Friday 21st August 6:30pm

Kick off 8:00pm

Analysis: Konsa is a perfect Arteta player - here's why

Sky Sports' Sam Blitz:

If there's one thing you need to know about Mikel Arteta, it's that he loves players that win duels. Nobody was better at it than Ezri Konsa last season.

The England international 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 - who looks set to be his team-mate next season.

Arsenal are in need of defensive reinforcement this summer with both William Saliba and Jurrien Timber both out injured, so need a player who can cover both right-back and centre-back roles.

The Gunners do have Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White as cover in those roles - and both performed well in the Community Shield win over Manchester City - but the latter has a difficult injury record over the last two seasons.

Arsenal also saw the importance of having good depth at right-back when Mosquera was forced to start the Champions League final with PSG out of position - which then resulted in the young Spaniard conceding a penalty.

Should a move for Konsa be completed, Arsenal have filled an important part of their team - and would be very close to completing their transfer window from an incomings point of view.

Can they find the forward player they have been looking the whole window for?

Arteta: Arsenal want to be the best club in the world

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Arteta is excited to keep building Arsenal after their Premier League win, vowing to make them "the best club in the world".

"It's certainly the ambition of the club and the owners to be the best club in the world," he told Sky Sports at a Premier League launch event ahead of their Friday night opener against Coventry, live on Sky.

"In order to do that, you need the best facilities, the best stadium, the best supporters, and you need the best squad and the best players in the world.

"Those are the ones that win you football matches and the ones that can be decisive when it matters.

"That's what we try to build with the actual players that we have, and with the players that we want to sign to make the difference for Arsenal."

Arsenal go into the season as outright favourites to retain their title, with that status further underlined by their comfortable 3-0 win over Manchester City in Sunday's Community Shield. Arteta, however, says he is more than comfortable with the position of being the frontrunners.

"This is part of our industry, and that's okay," he said. "For me, it's when I look into the eyes of my players and I see that fire, that desire and the will to be better every single day. That's the only thing that I care about."

The weight of history is against Arsenal defending their trophy, however. Arsenal have not defended the top-flight title since the 1930s. It is another milestone Arteta is keen to overcome.

"That's an opportunity that we have ahead, and we are very conscious of what it's going to take to deliver that," he said. "But I feel the ambition, I feel the desire, and I feel the ability and the conviction around the team that we can do it."