Arsenal Targets Nusa as Left Flank Priority

Arsenal’s summer rebuild is gathering speed, and it’s racing down the left flank.

With Leandro Trossard gone and a title to defend, Mikel Arteta has made it clear: his champions will not stand still. The search for fresh pace and invention in the final third has become the defining theme of Arsenal’s window, and it now has a new headline name.

Arsenal move on Nusa as left flank becomes priority

Antonio Nusa, the RB Leipzig winger who lit up the 2026 World Cup, has moved to the top of the list. Arsenal are reported to be preparing an opening bid of around €40 million (£34 million) for the 21‑year‑old, a figure that underlines both their intent and the market they are now shopping in.

Nusa did not just make up the numbers at the tournament. He drove Norway to the quarter‑finals and delivered one of the standout moments of the summer with a blistering solo goal against Ivory Coast, the kind of individual brilliance that instantly shifts a player from “prospect” to “priority target” for Europe’s elite.

Arsenal, though, are not alone at the table. RB Leipzig are understood to value Nusa closer to €60 million (£52 million), and that gap in valuation is not the only obstacle. Liverpool, still reshaping their own attack, have identified the Norwegian as a serious option and see him as a more attainable alternative to Yan Diomande after their move for Nusa’s Leipzig teammate collapsed.

This is not a quiet, under‑the‑radar chase. It is a straight fight between two clubs who expect to be in the title conversation again.

Life after Trossard: Arteta’s left-wing puzzle

Trossard’s move to Besiktas has sharpened the urgency. His departure strips Arsenal’s squad down to a single established, natural left winger in Gabriel Martinelli. For a side juggling the Premier League, Europe and domestic cups, that is a risk Arteta simply cannot run.

Nusa offers something different to both. He is raw but explosive, a winger who relishes isolation, squares up his full‑back and goes. Acceleration off the mark, fearless dribbling, a constant willingness to attack one-on-one – his profile screams chaos, the kind that unsettles deep blocks and opens games that threaten to drift.

At 21, there is still plenty of polishing to do, which is precisely what will attract a coach like Arteta. The ceiling is high, the tools are there, and the price – even at Leipzig’s valuation – reflects that potential.

But the plan at Arsenal does not stop with one signing.

Why Nusa wouldn’t close the door on Rogers

Even if Nusa walks through the doors at London Colney, the pursuit of Morgan Rogers should not end. Inside the club, the Aston Villa attacker is viewed as a different piece of the puzzle rather than a direct alternative.

Rogers brings something Nusa does not yet have: Premier League mileage. He has already adapted to the tempo, the physicality, the relentlessness of the division. His versatility is another major pull. Comfortable operating off the left or in a central role behind the striker, he offers Arteta tactical flexibility and the option to tweak systems without wholesale changes.

In a perfect scenario for Arsenal, both deals get done. Rogers arrives as a near‑ready starter, capable of stepping straight into the first XI and raising the level of the attack. Nusa comes in as the high‑upside wide forward, pushing Martinelli, learning the demands of Arteta’s structure and growing into one of Europe’s most dangerous left‑sided threats.

That is not luxury for a team with Arsenal’s ambitions. It is depth, and depth wins titles.

Depth for a title defence

The reality of modern elite football is brutal. Competing on multiple fronts, with the expectation of going deep in every competition, exposes any weakness in a squad. Arsenal learned over the past two seasons how quickly injuries or loss of form can stretch resources and dull an attack that once looked electric.

Arteta knows he needs more than just a strong starting XI. He needs a bench that frightens opponents, a rotation that does not drop the level, and options that allow him to change games from the touchline rather than simply endure them.

Two high‑quality, left‑sided attackers would transform that picture. Martinelli, Nusa, Rogers: three different profiles, three different ways to hurt teams, all fighting for minutes on the same flank or rotating across the front line.

The champions are not just trying to keep pace. They are trying to stay ahead. The question now is simple: will Arsenal push hard enough in the market to turn this vision of a reloaded left wing into the reality of another title charge?