Arsenal

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We asked for your views on Ezri Konsa potentially joining Arsenal from Aston Villa after a fee of more than £50m was agreed between the clubs.

Here are some of your comments:

Will: It could be good business. I have qualms about the price tag for a player who is only coming in as a Saliba and Timber back-up. We will just have to wait and see. But what I think is more important to the club is signing a world-class attacker, whether that is a left-winger or a striker.

Mike: Ezri Konsa is a good player who will improve at Arsenal, covering a vital area for the Gunners at the moment in view of the fitness doubts around William Saliba and Jurrien Timber. Fair price.

Napoleon: The transfer fee is too high. Ezri Konsa is worth between £30-35m.

Izzy: I mean Ezri Konsa is a good defender, but he's not worth £50m. When Saliba's back, he will basically just be a sub. He's a good defender and when Saliba's out, he will be useful alongside Gabriel.

Jonathan: Definitely some good sensible business. It's not going to set imaginations racing, but he's an out-of-the-box signing to fill in for Saliba and a solid rotation option for when he's back. And, like signing Guimaraes from Newcastle, it deprives another rival club of one of their best players!

Sam: I have enjoyed the transfer dealings so far, but I'm really struggling to get behind this one. Ezri Konsa's a decent player, but this deal comes with so many drawbacks. A big fee with no sell-on value, which will no doubt affect any efforts to sign a left-winger. If we were going to sign a right-sided cover, which arguably we could do without, I would prefer us to sign a prospective attacking full-back like Ivan Fresneda to at least give us different options. Still, if he joins, I wish him all the best at the club as none of this is his fault.

Last season: Champions.

This season: Winners.

Having finally crossed the line to their first Premier League title in 22 years, Arsenal are in perfect shape to retain the crown - and I believe they will.

Mikel Arteta's side have quality everywhere and will have the confidence of being champions. Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis showed they are additions of the highest quality as Arsenal dismantled Manchester City in the Community Shield.

The easiest prediction of them all.

• Read more of Phil's predictions

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

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Teams in the bottom half of the Premier League in 2025-26 finished with more points than they had in years, meaning that judging them simply by their position in the table is perhaps a little harsh.

Everton may have been underwhelmed with their 13th-place finish but it was the most points a team in that position had finished with since the Toffees themselves in 1999-2000.

The points of the four places below them were all the highest they have been in the Premier League for 23 years and West Ham can consider themselves unlucky to have gone down with the highest points total for an 18th-placed side since 2010-11.

However, competition has come at a cost.

One place where the Premier League has become less competitive - because it has become more fiercely-contested overall - is at the very bottom.

While it is almost expected for one side to be cut adrift long before the end of the season, nowadays two sides are getting left behind.

The average points tally of the second-bottom side in a 38-game season is 31, meaning teams that finish there have usually competed in a relegation battle for most of the season before ultimately falling short.

After the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, only two 19th-placed sides failed to reach 30 points in the first 21 seasons. But in the past decade, seven of the 10 sides to finish in that position have failed to do so.

In the past two seasons, promoted sides Ipswich and Burnley have both finished there with just 22 points - the fewest ever taken by a second-bottom side.

Relegation battles are now mostly a fight to see who takes the final spot in the bottom three, with the other two accounted for long before the final day - often by promoted sides.

But inspired by the survival of Sunderland and Leeds, promoted trio Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City will all be hoping they have what it takes to match the competitiveness of the Premier League this season.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers

Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus is not looking to move to Napoli despite their interest in the Brazil forward. (Mirror), external

Aston Villa are interested in signing Chelsea's English defender Tosin Adarabioyo as a potential replacement for Ezri Konsa following Arsenal's deal for the England international. (Sky Sports), external

Meanwhile, the Gunners are working on deals to sign Gibraltar winger James Scanlon, 19, and English right-back Habeeb Ogunneye, 20, from Manchester United. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Arsenal have agreed a deal worth more than £50m to sign Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa.

The England international is set to have a medical before completing his move to Emirates Stadium.

BBC Sport revealed last week that Arsenal had reopened talks with Villa over a deal for Konsa but still fell short of reaching an agreement.

The Gunners then appeared to pivot to Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah.

However, Arsenal refocused their efforts on Konsa and have now struck a deal for the player with Villa.

Is this good business?

Get in touch with your views here

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We asked for your views on Arsenal's biggest issue to fix after pre-season and what might happen before the end of the transfer window.

Here are some of your comments:

Des: Getting rid of Ethan Nwaneri will be a big mistake. Noni Madueke will slowly play himself out of contention unless he realises passing the ball quicker may help the team. Nwaneri could slot in and is a far better player than Madueke. Lewis-Skelly shouldn't be going anywhere either.

Felix: First of all, you have to try to get these players to sign for your club for the price you're willing to pay. Trying to get the most talented players is a tough thing when they already are in a top club. So you try to continue the players of your project. That's the only reason why they could change their mind. Atletico Madrid and Juventus want the same thing as Arsenal, to become a super club for the next 10 years with the strong holders in their teams.

James: Without a new striker, Arsenal will win nothing of consequence.

Reuben: Overall, I don't think any other transfers are necessary because of a lack of depth. In pre-season, Marli Salmon has shown his potential and has become more reliable. He plays centre-back and right-back which are arguably the positions we lack depth in. Cristhian Mosquera can also play right-back as well as centre-back so we are in a good position currently. People will say we needed another attacking midfielder but Martin Odegaard has looked in fine form as proven against Manchester City and in the World Cup.

Makhapila: Keeping Gabriel Martinelli for the whole pre-season while the intention was to sell him in the first place does not make a lot of sense. There is no obvious left winger available unless we overpay for Bradley Barcola. Julian Alvarez seems out of reach. Maybe we keep him and look to upgrade that position in January? Selling now and leaving ourselves without any real pace in attack would certainly not be the smartest move.

Chief Executive Officer Richard Garlick says Arsenal are not actively seeking to sell homegrown talents like Myles Lewis-Skelly or Ethan Nwaneri but that the Premier League champions would "consider" the "right opportunity" for both the players and the club.

Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri - both 19 years old - have been linked with summer moves away, including to rival clubs in the Premier League.

Their 'homegrown' status having progressed through the ranks at Arsenal means any sale would allow the club to book pure profit in its accounts, helping balance the financials in a year when the Premier League moves to a new Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) rule.

The new rules mean clubs can spend 85% of their revenues on fees, wages and contracts but the number drops to 70% for club's competing in Europe.

Speaking to the BBC's sports editor Dan Roan, Garlick explained his belief that all clubs are now operating a player-trading model in order to balance the books.

"There's been a lot of speculation around players," said Garlick.

"I can't stop other clubs being interested. I think Myles has had a fantastic end to last season and has started this one really well - we're very, very happy with him.

"Ethan has had a great pre-season as well and I think it's just a case of looking at what opportunities there are that will help both of those in terms of their career moving forward. We are not actively looking at selling those homegrown players but if the right opportunity came up - right for them and the club - we'd obviously consider that."

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On Friday, BBC Sport's Sami Mokbel reported Arsenal are prioritising a loan move for Nwaneri rather than a full sale.

Garlick also called for calm around the contract status of manager Mikel Arteta, with the title-winning manager into the final 12 months of his current deal.

"Mikel wants to be at Arsenal, we want Mikel at Arsenal," said Garlick.

"It's only a matter of time before we put that into a new contract. Everyone is very confident and calm. We're just navigating a transfer window and I'm sure Mikel's contract will be resolved very shortly."

BBC Sport's Arsenal reporter Alex Howell joined the latest episode of the BBC's Football Daily podcast to discuss the Gunners' reported transfer targets, including England defenders Ezri Konsa and Jarell Quansah.

"Arsenal have looked at both of those players, they're looking to bring in a defender that can play at centre and right-back and both players fit that profile," said Howell.

"Konsa is more senior, more experienced and he proved that at the World Cup with England, but [there is] a difference in valuation where Arsenal see it. Aston Villa value him closer to the £60m mark, which is a high figure for a 28-year-old.

"The same for Quansah, talks there with his camp rather than club to club at the moment but he's definitely on the list."

What about attacking targets?

Howell contined: "Looking for that player that can level them up, if you're looking for a player that's going to improve the Premier League champions and a side that reached the Champions League final, there's a small group of players that can do that.

"Bradley Barcola is on the list, but again with those players, Arsenal aren't the only interested club. Liverpool are also looking at him. There's been a longstanding interest in Julian Alvarez. I wouldn't rule out a left-winger or a striker, those are both options, but you're looking at a very small group of players that could come in and give Arsenal what they're looking for."

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Arsenal may be Premier League champions, but Mikel Arteta expects his side "to go to the next level" during the 2026-27 season.

The 2025-26 season was one which will never be forgotten for Arsenal fans as it ended with Arteta lifting the Premier League title.

However, a new season means new goals, but what is left for Arsenal and Arteta to achieve?

"Ultimately, the goal we all know is to win as many major trophies as we possibly can, and what we have to do is make sure that we click the fire every day to players and the staff to behave in that manner," said Arteta.

Since joining Arsenal in 2019, Arteta has won the Premier League, the FA Cup and two Community Shields, but has failed to lift the Champions League.

"For me, it's like becoming the national manager again, because every season requires an evolution from your part," he added.

"A big reflection of OK, what kind of manager the club needs right now, the players need to be the best version, and I feel fresh with a lot of energy and ready to go again.

"And now it's like building a beast inside you that you want to go through that again, and you know what it's going to take."

The Gunners have completed five signings during the summer window and have already lifted the Community Shield after beating Manchester City 3-0.

They start their defence of the title against Coventry City at home on Friday.

Sports psychologist Dan Abrahams joined the latest episode of Football Daily, in during which BBC Radio 5 Live's Aaron Paul spoke to him about Arsenal defending their Premier League title.

So for Mikel Arteta's squad, when does the preparation start?

"You're doing it straight away, coaches are bringing the right players in, working with their scouts to bolster the squad," said Abrahams.

"Then from day one, you want players hitting the ground running. There are all kinds of different messages, is it 'we've never defended the title so we're going to set that as an objective?' or is it that we're just going to continue the processes that we've done really well in the last season.

"You always try to create mini stories and objectives in the minds of the players when they come back from pre-season. For us at Feyenoord, it was 'let's hit the ground running again, let's have great leadership and teamwork, let's be even better than we were last season, let's make sure no complacency kicks in' because I think that word is so pertinent here. It takes a lot of energy, it's metabolically costly. You've got to be on it every single day."

The Athletic's Amy Lawrence also provided her take: "I'm not a fan of the word 'complacency' being thrown around in football. I don't buy it all that often.

"I'm more interested in how you recreate that hunger when you've pushed yourself to the absolute limit, when you remember the enormity of the stress they have put themselves under for 10 months. Every single week it was on a knife edge and so intense."

Chris Adams
BBC Sport journalist

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Having won four titles in a row from 2020-21 to 2023-24, Manchester City have fallen just short in the past two seasons, and Joe Hart believes Arsenal's players are about to find out how difficult it is to stay at the top like Pep Guardiola's teams did earlier in the decade.

Recalling his two titles with City in 2011-12 and 2013-14, neither of which were defended successfully, Hart told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "I was walking on water at that time. I actually thought I was 'that guy'.

"Football finds a way, really quickly, of showing you that you're not. And when things started to unravel, which they will in any season, [they] seemed to really unravel because all of a sudden [you're under] that kind of champion scrutiny.

"And it's really important how Arsenal are going to handle that, but Mikel Arteta has done a brilliant job, and he makes really big decisions and bold decisions. And it's about how you handle that first hurt.

"It's ironic that getting to the top is the easy thing, it really is."

Read more on what Hart has to say about the Premier League's big questions here

Fancy testing your football prediction skills? With the new season under way, BBC Sport has just the thing to keep you entertained every week.

After the success of our World Cup Predictor game, we've rebranded it for the club season as Match of the Day Predictor.

It's simple to play - just predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

And don't worry if you've joined late - players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Once you've submitted your predictions, you'll also be able to see what others think the outcome of the match will be.

Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or click here to play

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

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Arsenal had some mixed results during pre-season but their dominant win over Manchester City in the Community Shield in Cardiff reminded supporters that the Gunners are still the team to stop.

Mikel Arteta has built a squad with immense depth and the Arsenal midfield could be counted as one of the best in Europe.

Bruno Guimaraes has levelled up the engine room and Martin Odegaard looks back to his best too.

But the biggest question for Arsenal is what they can do in the remainder of what has been a muddled transfer window.

The Gunners tried and failed to bring in Vinicius Jr and missed out on Morgan Rogers, but they are still on the hunt for a forward to upgrade their attack.

Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli were left out on Sunday in the clearest sign so far that those three players are likely to leave the club.

Arsenal are also looking to bring in a defender and have explored a deal for Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah as well as Ezri Konsa of Aston Villa.

Villa value Konsa at about £60m but some supporters are questioning whether that would be a smart use of transfer funds.

While William Saliba will be out for a few months, Jurrien Timber could return to first-team training this week.

Once they are back, Konsa or Quansah would have to compete for a place alongside Ben White, Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel - and the Gunners also have 16-year-old Marli Salmon, who is realistically a cup option this season.

However, with two weeks to go in the window, sporting director Andrea Berta is under pressure to find answers as the season gets under way.

What do you think will happen at Emirates Stadium between now and the transfer deadline on 1 September?

Get in touch with your views here

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Martin Odegaard was some distance from his brilliant best last season, I suspect now that was down to a niggling injury.

I was at the Norway v Brazil game during the World Cup and he suddenly looked like the Odegaard of old. I wondered then if that was just lifting himself for the tournament or the fact that international games are often easier for skilful players than top-level domestic English matches.

I saw enough in Cardiff on Sunday to assure me and indeed the Arsenal fans that it is much simpler, their captain is back to his very best. The field was littered with world-class players, including quite a few valued north of £100m, but he was still head and shoulders above any of them on the day.

His movement was bordering on balletic at times and his finish was the type you usually only ever see in five-a-side match. Putting any pro keeper on his backside with a dummy is difficult. They are trained not to sell themselves. But in that moment, he made Gianluigi Donnarumma look positively oafish. That is not an easy thing to do to one of the best in the business. The swagger from an entire football team is for once totally justified.

Arsenal are no one-season wonders even if they will be chased and perhaps overtaken by Manchester City. Manchester United, Liverpool and maybe even Chelsea with their lack of European distractions could push them all the way too.

But right now it is crystal clear that they are the team to beat.

Pat Nevin writes weekly in the Football Extra newsletter. If you're outside the UK and would like to receive it, sign up here.

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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It's the same lament every year, usually from the losers, that "you don't learn anything from the Community Shield season opener".

Sometimes this tie sees the worthy league champions play against a side that has had a good cup run but aren't really the other 'best' team in England. This time however, it was Arsenal and Man City, clearly the two favourites for this season's Premier League title.

If, as it is often proposed, the Community Shield is little more than a glorified friendly, why did both Mikel Arteta and Enzo Maresca field just about the strongest sides they could muster? They were both intent on putting down a marker for the coming season and in the end it was Arsenal who came away with all the positives.

Not only was there a 3-0 win, a nice shiny shield to stuff in the boot of the team bus back to north London but other more important, if less tangible things were brought back from Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

There was a new swagger about Arsenal that couldn't be mistaken. Winning the league can feel like scaling the highest, hardest mountain; when it is completed after six hard years of work, the idea of making another assault right away can be too much. Clearly it isn't for this Arsenal group, they have the whiff of dynasty builders about them.

The recent arrival Bruno Guimaraes, though peripheral here in Wales, will make them better in terms of squad depth at the very least. Kai Havertz is starting the season fit this time, which will help, and, with a season at the club under his belt, Eberechi Eze will improve further.

Pat Nevin writes weekly in the Football Extra newsletter. If you're outside the UK and would like to receive it, sign up here.

Martin Odegaard's man-of-the-match performance was the highlight of Arsenal's 3-0 Community Shield demolition of Manchester City and showed early signs that the Gunners' chief creator might be returning to his best after a frustrating 2025-26.

Although Arsenal won the Premier League last season, knee and shoulder problems stopped their Norwegian playmaker from reaching his very top level.

He only started 16 times in the league and his one goal and seven assists were his lowest totals since joining the club permanently from Real Madrid in 2021-22.

On Sunday in Cardiff, Odegaard capped an all-action display with a brilliant third goal when his dummy left City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on the floor.

Odegaard was a key part at the start of Mikel Arteta's rejuvenation of Arsenal. If he stays fit and keeps up this form, will he feel like a new signing for the Spanish manager?

"Last year was really a big struggle with a lot of difficult moments. To miss so many games because of injury was really frustrating," Odegaard said on Sunday.

"It is the worst thing for a footballer to not be able to be on the pitch and I had quite a lot of weird injuries, and bad luck.

"It was good for me to end the season with a title, here, and then a good World Cup. Then I had my break and I feel good, ready to go again."

"What I have just worked on is to use that as motivation for this year and to come back stronger. And to use all of those experiences in a positive way."

Read more on Odegaard