Arsenal Pursues Antonio Nusa Amid Liverpool Interest

Arsenal’s title defence has not even begun, but the tempo of their summer tells its own story. Mikel Arteta wants more speed, more chaos, more imagination in the final third – and he wants it down the left.

Leandro Trossard’s move to Besiktas has ripped out a key piece of his attacking puzzle. With the Belgian gone, Gabriel Martinelli stands as the only established natural left winger in the squad. For a team planning to go deep in every competition again, that is nowhere near enough.

So Arsenal have gone hunting. And they are walking straight into a fight with Liverpool.

Arsenal step up Nusa move

The Premier League champions are preparing an opening bid of around €40 million (£34 million) for RB Leipzig winger Antonio Nusa, according to emerging reports. It is a bold first move for one of the breakout stars of the 2026 World Cup.

Nusa’s stock has soared over the summer. The Norway international helped drive his country to the quarter-finals, lighting up the tournament with his direct running and a stunning solo goal against Ivory Coast that pushed him firmly into the global spotlight.

Leipzig, though, know exactly what they have. The Bundesliga club are understood to value the 21-year-old closer to €60 million (£52 million). That gap between offer and valuation is the first major obstacle for Arsenal – and an invitation for rivals to get involved.

Liverpool are already there. They have tracked Nusa as a more attainable option after their move for another Leipzig player, Yan Diomande, collapsed. For them, he represents a high-upside wide forward who fits their age profile and budget better than some of the market’s premium names.

For Arsenal, he represents something slightly different: a weapon.

A different edge on the left

Arteta’s left flank has revolved around Martinelli’s intensity and Trossard’s subtlety. Nusa would change the feel of that side again.

He is fast. Not just quick over five yards, but capable of exploding past full-backs, committing defenders and ripping open defensive shapes with one stride and a feint. He loves to take opponents on one-on-one, to isolate and attack, and he does it with a fearlessness that is hard to coach.

At 21, he is far from the finished product. That, for a coach like Arteta, is part of the appeal. There is room to refine his decision-making, his final ball, his off-the-ball work. The raw tools – acceleration, balance, dribbling, the confidence to carry responsibility in big games – are already there.

Crucially, Nusa would not arrive as the sole answer on that flank. Nor should he.

Why Nusa does not close the door on Rogers

Inside Arsenal’s recruitment discussions, one name has never drifted far from the surface: Morgan Rogers.

The Aston Villa attacker offers something Nusa cannot yet match – proven Premier League experience and broader positional flexibility. Rogers can play off the left, tuck in behind the striker, and link play between the lines. He understands the rhythm of the league, the physicality, the relentlessness of the schedule.

That matters to a side defending a title.

Nusa, for all his talent, would likely begin as competition and rotation for Martinelli, a high-ceiling project designed to grow into one of Europe’s most dangerous wide forwards. Rogers, by contrast, looks like an immediate contender to step into the starting XI and raise its level from day one.

In a perfect scenario for Arsenal, this is not an either-or decision. It is both.

Rogers to sharpen the present. Nusa to secure the future and push the standards of the current wide options. Two different profiles, one shared objective: to ensure that when Arteta looks to his bench in March or April, he is choosing between high-quality solutions, not compromises.

Depth for a demanding season

The demands on this Arsenal side are only increasing. Another tilt at the Premier League. A deeper run in Europe. Domestic cups that no longer feel like secondary concerns for a squad of this depth and ambition.

Last season exposed how thin the margins can be when injuries bite or form dips. With Trossard gone, relying on Martinelli alone on the left would be a calculated risk in a title race that punishes any weakness.

That is why this pursuit matters. Not just because Nusa is exciting, or because Rogers is versatile, but because Arsenal understand that defending a crown is a different challenge to chasing one.

If they can land both – prising Nusa away from Leipzig and beating Liverpool to his signature, while also convincing Villa to part with Rogers – Arteta’s left side suddenly looks loaded, varied and dangerous.

The market will decide how far they can go. But the intent is clear: Arsenal do not plan to hand their title back quietly.