The pitch to Antonio Nusa is coming from inside the Arsenal dressing room. Captain Martin Odegaard, a Norway international who knows the 21-year-old from national-team duty, has been encouraging his compatriot to pick the Emirates when the window opens, the Evening Standard reported this week. The paper put the reported fee at £50m.
Arsenal have been linked to Nusa for several weeks and believe they can negotiate Leipzig down from a £60m valuation to roughly £45m. Mikel Arteta’s side signed a new contract until 2030 in October and sit top of the Premier League, which is a sales pitch that does not have to be explained.
The “completely obvious” fit
From Norway, the logic of Arsenal is coming through loud. Former Norway midfielder Kristoffer Løkberg, now a pundit for public broadcaster NRK, laid out the case on NRK’s Bakrommet podcast.
“The completely obvious option in the Premier League is Arsenal,” Løkberg said, in comments relayed by Sport Witness.
Read also: “No, no, no”: Troy Deeney warns Folarin Balogun against Manchester United transfer
Løkberg pointed to Nusa’s playing style matching Arteta’s system and to Arsenal’s thin left-wing options, while ruling Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool out on squad composition. The positional opening at the Emirates is real, and Nusa is already a Bundesliga starter who plays on the left.
Nusa’s goal against Manchester City
Nusa signed for Leipzig from Club Brugge in 2024 and is contracted in Saxony until June 2029. He scored in Leipzig’s Champions League home defeat to Manchester City on 4 November, a performance scouts logged and that his Bundesliga numbers back up.
The Norway international has four goals and six assists in the Bundesliga this season, according to the Football Faithful via Yahoo Sports, which also pointed to Arsenal’s search for a senior left-sided attacker.
Leipzig’s answer
None of this means the deal is close. Leipzig view Nusa as a key player and are not in a rush to sell, with one report calling the move “difficult to pull off”. Tottenham are also tracking the winger, so a January race is likely if Leipzig’s stance softens.
Read also: “You just lose yourself’: James Trafford opens up on Manchester City nightmare
The Norwegian connection is Arsenal’s edge. Odegaard captained Norway at the 2026 World Cup and is also Nusa’s skipper at the club he is being sold on, and the Evening Standard framed the January move as the one Nusa is leaning toward if Leipzig can be persuaded to lower their demands.
This remains a reported transfer, with no deal announced by Arsenal or Leipzig.
Read also: Manchester City face growing Arsenal pressure after back-to-back Premier League defeats
