Arsenal sit top of the Premier League after nine games, two points better off than at this stage last season, and Mikel Arteta’s side opened the Champions League league phase with a 3-0 win over Lille. The defence remains the most reliable unit in the division. The frontline tells a different story.
Fourteen league goals in nine matches is a modest return for a title contender. Injuries, suspensions and form slumps have stopped Arteta fielding his forwards together long enough to build any rhythm, and that explains why Nusa Arsenal transfer talk has surfaced now.
The left flank carries most of the concern. Arsenal paid £34m for Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge in the summer to fix it, yet the winger has already missed time with a hamstring injury just as he was settling into English football. Kai Havertz has struggled for consistent output when drifting wide, and Gabriel Martinelli is only now returning.
The rest of the window brought Bruno Guimarães for £75m and Ezri Konsa for £55m, strong additions in midfield and defence, but Arsenal failed to land a headline forward such as Vinicius Junior or Julian Alvarez. Arteta has had little tactical flexibility in attack ever since.
The Evening Standard reports Arsenal are leading the race for RB Leipzig winger Antonio Nusa, with a £50m January deal in mind. Former Norway midfielder Kristoffer Lokberg told a podcast the 21-year-old suits Arteta’s style and meets a direct need on the left.
Speaking on NRK’s Bakrommet podcast, via Sport Witness, he said: “He is one of the world’s most exciting left-wingers. We have been waiting for his potential to come to full bloom, but now it is exploding.
“Big clubs can no longer sit on the fence, they must act quickly before he disappears, or they will be left regretting it.”
Lokberg continued: “The completely obvious option in the Premier League is Arsenal.
“The player fits their playing style, and the club has a real need. They basically only have Tzolis and a slightly half-hearted Eberechi Eze as options on the left wing. I think Arsenal sit around every day, weighing whether to pull the trigger.”
Lokberg continued: “The completely obvious option in the Premier League is Arsenal.
“The player fits their playing style, and the club has a real need. They basically only have Tzolis and a slightly half-hearted Eberechi Eze as options on the left wing. I think Arsenal sit around every day, weighing whether to pull the trigger.”
Why a Nusa Arsenal transfer suits Arteta’s left flank
Arteta builds around an asymmetrical, fluid 4-3-3. Without the ball, it relies on high-intensity pressing and rigid compactness. With it, the left winger holds the touchline and poses a one-against-one threat, letting inverted full-backs like Riccardo Calafiori or Myles Lewis-Skelly underlap into the half-space.
Havertz or Viktor Gyokeres leads the line, Bukayo Saka provides width on the right, Martin Ødegaard works inside and Guimarães or Declan Rice anchors midfield. Nusa’s acceleration, dribbling and inside-cutting suit that rhythm. His defensive output, positional lapses and 90-minute physical consistency need work, because Arteta’s pressing triggers are non-negotiable.
Should Arsenal pull the trigger on Nusa in January?
Yes, on the right terms. Tzolis’ injury and the missing elite forward leave the attack predictable whenever Saka is marked out or absent, and Nusa’s explosive profile unpicks low blocks. Relying on internal growth to retain the title is a gamble.
The price complicates it. Arteta has warned that Arsenal cannot match the unrestrained spending of certain rivals, and £50m on an unrefined 21-year-old removes money a clinical central striker, the squad’s biggest gap, needs. A loan-to-buy arrangement or heavily back-loaded add-ons from Leipzig would justify the deal. A flat £50m upfront demand should send Arsenal elsewhere, to a marquee number nine, because a winger who needs drilling cannot solve a striker problem.
