Arsenal Targets Antonio Nusa for Left Flank Rebuild
Arsenal’s summer rebuild is accelerating, and Mikel Arteta has fixed his gaze firmly on the left flank.
Leandro Trossard’s departure to Besiktas has ripped a reliable option out of Arsenal’s front line. It has also sharpened a problem the Premier League champions could previously park: Gabriel Martinelli now stands as the only established, natural left winger in the squad. For a team defending a title and juggling multiple competitions, that is nowhere near enough.
So Arsenal are moving – and fast.
Arsenal step into the Nusa race
Antonio Nusa is the latest name at the top of their list, and he is not exactly a secret. After a breakout 2026 World Cup, the RB Leipzig winger has become one of the most talked-about young wide players in Europe.
Reports suggest Arsenal are preparing an opening bid of around €40 million (£34 million) for the Norway international. It is an assertive move, but it may not be enough. Leipzig are said to value the 21-year-old closer to €60 million (£52 million), and they know they are holding a premium asset.
Nusa’s World Cup only strengthened that hand. He helped Norway reach the quarter-finals and lit up the tournament with a stunning solo goal against Ivory Coast, the kind of run-and-finish that makes recruitment teams sit up and recalibrate their budgets. Raw, yes. But electric.
Arsenal are not alone. Liverpool have tracked Nusa as well, seeing him as a more attainable option than Yan Diomande after their move for Diomande’s Leipzig teammate collapsed. That interest ensures any negotiation will be tense and expensive. Two of England’s heaviest hitters, one ascending winger, and a selling club in no rush. It has all the ingredients of a drawn-out saga.
What Nusa would bring to Arteta’s attack
For Arteta, the attraction is obvious. Nusa offers something different to what he already has on the left.
He is explosive over the first few yards, fearless in one-on-one situations and happy to take defenders on the outside or cut inside with equal menace. His acceleration can stretch a back line in an instant, forcing full-backs to retreat and opening pockets of space for Arsenal’s midfield creators.
At 21, he remains a work in progress. That is part of the appeal. Arsenal have built a core around players who can grow together, and Nusa fits that profile: high ceiling, big moments already on his CV, but plenty still to refine under a demanding coach.
Yet even if Nusa walks through the doors at London Colney, Arsenal’s business on that flank should not stop there.
Why Nusa alone is not enough
Arteta does not just need another winger; he needs depth and variety. That is where Morgan Rogers enters the picture.
The Aston Villa attacker offers something Nusa cannot yet match: Premier League experience and positional flexibility. Rogers can operate off the left, drift centrally, and slot in behind the striker. He understands the tempo, the physicality, the relentlessness of the league in a way a young winger arriving from the Bundesliga would still have to learn.
In a perfect scenario for Arsenal, this is not an either-or decision. Land Rogers, and Arteta gains a player ready to challenge for a starting spot immediately, capable of elevating the first XI from day one. Add Nusa, and he has a high-upside wide forward pushing Martinelli, forcing standards higher and giving the manager the option to rotate without a drop in threat.
That is the level of depth a title defence demands.
Building a left side to defend a crown
Trossard’s exit has turned a mild concern into a clear priority. One injury to Martinelli and Arsenal’s left flank suddenly looks alarmingly thin for a club with ambitions on every front.
Arteta has already shown he can build a system that squeezes every drop out of his wide players. With two new left-sided attackers of genuine quality, he would not just be patching a hole. He would be arming himself for another nine-month slog at the top of English football, and the European nights that come with it.
The question now is simple: will Arsenal push hard enough, and pay enough, to turn this plan into reality before someone else does?
