Konsa bullish about Arsenal’s Champions League hopes as Bayern clash looms

For Ezri Konsa, it was just a wonderfully satisfying challenge. The Nottingham Forest striker Liam Delap had stolen in behind him up the inside left channel on Sunday. There were 93 minutes gone, Arsenal were 1-0 up and it was now or never for Forest. Konsa decreed that it would be never, curving his covering run back, matching Delap for pace and stretching into the perfect block tackle.

So, another win for Arsenal: their 10th in 11 matches this season. Another clean sheet. And for Konsa, a continuation of what has been a dreamlike couple of months. Do points-saving last-minute challenges mean more when the defender is actually a fan of the club, too? Basically, yes.

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“I’ve been asked this a lot,” Konsa says with a smile, when the subject of his boyhood allegiance is raised. “And, yes, I was [an Arsenal supporter]. I had a lot of Arsenal kits when I was younger. You dream of playing for big clubs like this. When you’re a kid, you see the likes of Arsenal, growing up, and the amount of quality players they’ve had throughout the years and to be here – and not only to be here but to be here with close friends – makes it even more special.”

Konsa is talking about Eberechi Eze, in particular; another boyhood Arsenal fan, with whom he is especially tight. Many supporters have seen the clip of Eze greeting Konsa at the training ground after the latter had completed his £51m move from Aston Villa and how they crack up with laughter before embracing. It is infectious. But Konsa knows a clutch of other Arsenal players from England duty – Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ben White – and he credits them with helping him to settle in.

The 28-year-old’s adaptation has been quick and it has needed to be with William Saliba injured. After making his Arsenal debut as a substitute at Villa – Konsa’s scriptwriters have been hard at work – he has played in every minute of the club’s Premier League and Champions League matches. The victory at Forest, where Arsenal had drawn 0-0 in each of the previous two seasons, was significant. It was not a performance of any attacking pace or spark. Perhaps it made the points feel more precious.

“We hadn’t won here in two seasons, the boss was going on about it,” Konsa says. “It’s something we wanted to change as players and these are the games you have to win. If you want to win titles, you have to come away to tough places like this and get three points.”

Things are about to get even more interesting for Konsa and Arsenal because on Wednesday they face Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League. “It’s against my international teammate as well,” Konsa says, and he is straight into an appreciation of Harry Kane, the England captain, who has been on fire since joining Bayern from Tottenham in 2023. Kane’s scoring record for the club bears repeating: 155 goals in 157 appearances.

Konsa has a good record against Kane, having faced him seven times, six of them for Villa against Spurs. The seventh and most recent came in October 2024 when Konsa was in the Villa team that beat Kane’s Bayern 1-0 at Villa Park in the Champions League. It was Villa’s first home match in the competition for 41 years. The defender has four wins against Kane’s teams and three losses. Kane has only scored twice against him, both from penalties.

“The Villa-Bayern game … to beat them at home and keep a clean sheet … it was very special for the players and the fans,” Konsa says. “I don’t really look much at those kind of stats [against individual players] but I am relishing the challenge.”

The dynamics against Bayern appear different for Konsa this time. It was a famous victory for Villa that night, in part because of the tie’s history; the club beat Bayern 1-0 in the 1982 European Cup final. Villa were underdogs as they felt their way back into Europe’s elite competition. Arsenal will kick off as Bayern’s equals and among the favourites to win the tournament, having lost on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s final.

Konsa won the first trophy of his career a week before that when he was in the Villa team that defeated Freiburg in the Europa League final. He says he has felt the determination of the Arsenal squad to go one step further in Europe.

“One hundred per cent,” Konsa says. “As players, the standards we have, the goals we have … we want to win everything – the Champions League, the Prem. Whatever trophies are in front of us. When I came to Arsenal, I wanted to win. I was hungry to win. Last season I got my hands on the Europa League and this season I want more.”