Arsenal got over the line against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, but it was far from a walk in the park.

Indeed, it was a late Noni Madueke goal that sealed the game for Arsenal, but for a long time, it looked as though the Gunners would come away from the City Ground with just one point.

Even after Madueke’s goal, Forest put plenty of pressure on Arsenal, and late in the game, Liam Delap looked to have manufactured a chance to level things up for Forest.

However, a last-ditch bit of defending from Ezri Konsa denied the former Chelsea man, and speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand has hailed Konsa for this defensive contribution.

Rio Ferdinand hails Ezri Konsa for block vs Nottingham Forest

Ferdinand spoke highly of Arsenal’s defence after the game against Forest.

The pundit was left impressed by both Konsa and Declan Rice’s defensive contributions towards the end of the game, going as far as to say that Konsa deserves a pay rise for what he did at the weekend.

“Your defenders, Konsa, they need a pat on the back. I saw Declan making a great block as well like the block Konsa made at the end of the game.”

“Oh my god, that’s a match-winner. Like, that that he deserves a bump up in wages just for that alone. Huge, huge moment.”

Of course, Konsa has only just signed for Arsenal, so he won’t be in line for a new contract or a pay rise anytime soon, but he’s certainly making a case for himself to be in the Arsenal starting XI every single week.

William Saliba will be back from injury in the coming weeks, and Konsa needs to make sure he’s on his A-game in order to fend off the competition Saliba will inevitably bring.

It remains to be seen what Konsa’s role will be once Saliba is back, but he’s proving to be very difficult to drop after recent performances.