Senior football correspondentPublished13 minutes agoArsenal are accelerating their interest in Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa.
Various sources have indicated that there is some optimism an agreement for the England international to move to Emirates Stadium is possible.
Konsa is Arsenal's first choice defensive target but so far the Premier League champions have not met Villa's £60m valuation.
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 Jarrell Quansah.
However, Arsenal have refocused their efforts on Konsa with a sense now the deal will get completed.
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