Arsenal 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.

If you had told New York Yankees lefty Brent Headrick in spring training that he would be second in MLB in games pitched at this point in the season, he wouldn’t have believed you.

“The amount of appearances would have shocked me,” he said, “for sure.”

The Yankees have needed every one of Headrick’s 64 outings, especially since he’s used them to establish himself as one of the game’s most surprising and best bullpen options, with a 1.57 ERA over 63 innings.

But the Yankees’ ability to rely on Headrick has been a blessing for so long that it’s started to become a problem.

Headrick, a starting pitcher until late 2024, has never approached this many appearances in a season, and he’s on pace to pitch in 82 games. No Yankees reliever has worked as many as 80 games since Boone Logan in 2012. Only the Toronto Blue Jays’ Mason Fluharty (66 games) has pitched in more games this season than Headrick.

If the Yankees want the 28-year-old to remain the foundation of a bridge to closer David Bednar in October, they may need to take their foot off the gas.

“Obviously,” pitching coach Matt Blake said, “it’s a concern when you get to this volume of work. But it’s something we’ve just got to monitor down the stretch and be smart about trying to win every game versus trying to set ourselves up for October.”

It isn’t just Headrick, either.

Headrick is among four Yankees relievers with at least 50 appearances (Fernando Cruz, 58; Tim Hill, 56; Bednar, 51). Paul Blackburn, a starter for nine years until last season, is at 47 appearances and 69 innings.

The Yankees, however, may feel like they haven’t had a choice but to ride their most trusted arms — especially lately.

Their starting pitching has been excellent (an MLB-best 3.37 ERA on the season), but their offense has been bottom five in runs scored in the majors without Aaron Judge (first right rib stress fracture) in the starting lineup since June 2. Since that date, they are 34-31, and have played many close games.

“That’s the reality of our situation the last couple of months, where we have been playing these nip-and-tuck games every single day,” manager Aaron Boone said over the weekend in Toronto. “But obviously, you’ve got to balance that with the long-term health and potential success of your club, too. We’re on top of it as best we can be, communicating with them and trying to do what’s right in the here and now and keep the big picture in mind, too.”

Headrick is well aware of his workload. He said he feels great, though his recent numbers haven’t been sterling. In eight August appearances entering Tuesday’s 3-1 road win over the Baltimore Orioles, his 3.86 ERA was his highest in any month of this season. Against the Orioles, Headrick allowed the first two batters to reach base in the seventh inning. Then he recovered for two straight outs before Cruz rescued him, recording the final out of the frame.

Headrick attributed his ability to work so often to several factors. Bullpen coach Preston Claiborne and assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel have monitored his throwing between outings and often ask how he’s feeling.

Manager Aaron Boone takes the ball from Brent Headrick in the seventh inning Tuesday. The lefty is on pace to make 82 appearances. (Mitch Stringer / Imagn Images)

The Yankees also don’t believe in pitchers simply keeping their arms loose with mindless throwing. They track everything.

“We monitor not only how much they throw,” Claiborne said, “but we incorporate the off days. Guys who have gone back to back may take a full day off (and) get full recovery, so they don’t throw as often — even in catch play, which has been a huge help to the health of our bullpen and keeping guys fresh.”

During pregame warmups, the Yankees arrange iPhones around the group of relievers playing catch to record and track the particulars of every throw, including velocity, using an app called Pocket Radar. That information then gets fed into a data model that advises pitchers on how much effort they should exert on a given day.

Headrick said he’ll often throw very little between outings, “eliminating the extra stressors outside of it as much as possible. All of my workload is coming from the game. But I’m still able to be built up and go out there with as close to the best version of myself as I can.”

“But no matter what the data says,” Headrick said, “it always comes down to how I feel.”

That was welcome news years ago to longtime MLB reliever Scott Proctor, who in 2007 was told by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman that he needed to be honest with then-manager Joe Torre about when he was too exhausted to pitch instead of just throwing on fumes.

Proctor pitched in 83 games with a 3.52 ERA for the Yankees in 2006. He pitched in 83 games again the following season, but the Yankees traded him at the deadline after 52 appearances to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Proctor made another 41 appearances for the Dodgers in 2008 but needed Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2009 season. He retired after 2011.

“We didn’t grow up wanting to be an every-fifth-day guy,” said Proctor, now a 49-year-old private wealth advisor. “We grew up wanting to be an impactful guy. Your guys are on the field fighting every day to win, and you want to help.”

Blake said Headrick has been “amazing” for the Yankees this season and credited how the lefty “believes in himself and has gone out there and attacked.” He’s come a long way from when the Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Minnesota Twins in February 2025.

Headrick wants to pitch as often as he can the rest of the way, but he’s not oblivious.

“It’s crazy to think about how many appearances it’s been,” he said. “But nothing (in the past) matters. That’s all over with. Today matters, and when tomorrow comes, that’s what I’ll worry about.”

It’s up to the Yankees, though, to worry about all of it if they want Headrick to help them win a World Series.

No conference does clunky standings quite like the ACC. The league is transitioning to a nine-game conference schedule, but due to preexisting nonconference contracts, five schools (Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and UNC) are still playing eight games this season.

The ACC also changed its tiebreaker policy after 7-5 Duke emerged from a five-way tie for second to reach the conference championship game, winning the league for the first time since 1989 but missing the Playoff. This year, you could see a tie between a 6-2 team and a 7-2 team broken by a computer rating (and the ACC champion is guaranteed a bid).

If my hunch is correct, at least one team will glide cleanly to Charlotte.

Here are my predicted standings, plus 10 other predictions for the ACC and Notre Dame in 2026. (Also read my SEC and Big 12 predictions.)

ACC championship: Miami over Louisville
Playoff teams: Miami, Notre Dame (independent)

1. Miami will run away from the field. Yeah, yeah, they’ve never won the ACC since joining in 2004. But the Canes and their highly priced roster are living in a completely different neighborhood than everyone else. Duke transfer QB Darian Mensah is a legit Heisman Trophy contender, and running back Mark Fletcher and receiver Malachi Toney could be All-Americans.

2. But the Irish will get revenge in South Bend. Notre Dame deserves all the preseason acclaim it’s getting. QB CJ Carr and his receivers will be dynamic, and its defense should be as good/better than the 2024 edition. I have the Irish losing once — at BYU — but they’ll be out for blood in the Miami rematch on Nov. 7 after the Canes kept them out of the Playoff last year.

3. SMU or Louisville goes to Charlotte. In their two seasons since moving up from the American, the Mustangs have gone 14-2 in ACC play. Star QB Kevin Jennings is back. They’re my co-No. 2 with Louisville, where explosive RB Isaac Brown leads a deep backfield. The Cards happen to host SMU in Week 3, so I’ll give them the edge to get to the ACC title game.

4. Virginia won’t be a one-off. I initially assumed the Cavaliers would crash back to earth after so many close wins last year (three in overtime) en route to an 11-3 final record. But UVA may be the oldest team in the country and returns the nation’s most experienced O-line. And Missouri transfer QB Beau Pribula may be an upgrade from Chandler Morris.

5. Dabo Swinney endures another mediocre year. Once a program reaches the heights Clemson did from 2015-2020, people just kind of assume they’re “still talented.” Well, the Tigers had nine draft picks last season and went 7-6. They’ve gone 4-4 in conference play two of the past three seasons. Expect more of the same.

6. James Franklin shows early returns. Last year was a lost 3-9 season after Brent Pry got fired after three games. Franklin retained a lot of key pieces — including Pry as DC — while bringing in Penn State imports like QB Ethan Grunkemeyer. The Hokies will rebound and finish on the right side of .500.

7. Mike Norvell does not finish the season. Florida State’s embattled coach — 3-13 in the ACC since 2024 — was too expensive to fire last year. Now it may be too costly to keep him. The fanbase is checked out and roster money dried up. And FSU is visiting Alabama, Louisville and Miami over the first seven games.

8. The Bay Area schools diverge. Stanford cost coach Justin Wilcox his job when it stomped Cal last season. New Bears leader Tosh Lupoi has a promising team led by stud QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. Things look bleaker for Cardinal coach Tavita Pritchard, whose best option is ex-Michigan starter Davis Warren.

9. Bill O’Brien says, “What am I doing here?” The third-year Boston College boss is in a no-win situation. His employer is a non-factor in NIL. The Eagles went 2-10 in 2025, lost some of their best players and signed the 60th-ranked portal class, per 247Sports. After another 2-10-type season, O’Brien moves on.

10.Bill Belichick says, “What am I doing here?” Unlike O’Brien, Bill’s dilemma is entirely of his own making. The Tar Heels’ portal class was also outside the top 50. And the schedule — TCU, at Clemson, Notre Dame, Miami, Louisville, at Virginia — is harder than it was for last year’s 4-8 team. If it turns out this year’s record is the same or worse, prepare for a “mutually agreed to part ways” press release in December. Followed by a nice, long vacation with the missus.