« Calm, composed, serene » – this is how Konsa described his own defensive style after joining Arsenal from Aston Villa, as praised by Arsenal's official website.

The defender became a cornerstone of Aston Villa's defence, helping the Birmingham club transform from relegation-threatened to Europa League champions over seven years.

As he returns to the capital, we analyse why Konsa will be an indispensable part of Arsenal's defence and his importance for the 2024/25 season.

Konsa is difficult for opponents to get past. During the 2023/24 season, among all defenders who played more than 30 matches, he was dribbled past only 4 times, ranking second among the lowest.

This trend dates back to his Premier League debut in 2019. In 231 Premier League appearances, he has been dribbled past only 37 times, averaging just 0.17 times per 90 minutes.

Saka has already praised Konsa's individual defensive performance, and his tackle success rate is equally impressive.

Opta Sports analysed Konsa's « true tackle » success rate. « True tackle » attempts include successful tackles, missed tackles, and fouls. A successful tackle means regaining possession or the ball going out of play in a safe position; a missed tackle means the player attempted to tackle but failed to touch the ball.

In this metric, Konsa completed 294 true tackles with a success rate of 74.8%. Since his Premier League debut in August 2019, among all defenders, his success rate ranks second, just behind Brentford's Pinnock.

Furthermore, Konsa is not afraid to block shots with his body. During the 2023/24 season, he made 29 blocks, ranking ninth among all Premier League players.

Arteta's team emphasises possession and game control.

Konsa stated he enjoys being involved in possession, and the data shows he is one of the most technically gifted defenders on the ball.

Last season in the Premier League, only three players completed more passes in their own half than Konsa, who made a total of 1,337 successful passes. His total passes reached 2,003, ranking him seventh among all Premier League players in the 2023/24 season.

Additionally, Konsa also ranked in the top ten for progressive passes in the final third with 151 last season, surpassing every other Arsenal defender. This demonstrates his ability to advance the attacking play.

The new signing achieved a pass accuracy rate of 95.5% during the 2023/24 season, leading the Premier League among players who played more than 100 minutes.

Even more impressive, Konsa's pass accuracy rate under pressure also reached 93.8%, ranking first in the league.

Over the past three seasons, he has completed 2,167 passes under pressure, ranking fourth among all players during the same period. This further confirms his claim of being calm and composed on the ball.

During the 2023/24 season, Konsa was a consistent performer for Aston Villa, but how does his season-long performance compare to Arsenal's defensive line?

He made 34 Premier League appearances, the most among all his new teammates.

Although he won fewer duels than Gabriel and Saliba, his duel success rate of 67.1% was the highest among Arsenal's defenders.

In terms of passing, Konsa's pass accuracy was also the highest among Arsenal's defenders, while completing the most passes.

In his first interview, Konsa stated: « It's good to be able to play in multiple positions. I can play right-back and centre-back. But ultimately, wherever the manager puts me, I will do my duty and give my best. »

Konsa is another Arsenal defender who has demonstrated his ability to play multiple positions at the highest level.

In 9,046 minutes played for Aston Villa, he spent 77% of his time as a centre-back, with the remainder as a right-back in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

During his time with the England national team, he has also adapted to other defensive positions, including left centre-back and left-back, as required by the team.

Traduit par IA.

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