Antonio Nusa to Arsenal was a quiet rumour a few months back. Not anymore. Things move fast in transfer windows, especially when a 21-year-old decides to use a major tournament as his personal launchpad. He had already put together a decent 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign with RB Leipzig, bagging four goals and setting up four more across 31 outings. Solid enough.
But six matches at the World Cup across North America changed everything. Scoring Norway’s opener in their last-32 victory over Ivory Coast really put him on the map, turning him into one of the most talked-about young wide men in Europe. Now, both Arsenal and Tottenham are sniffing around, according to reports in The Sun, as relayed by GOAL.
Antonio Nusa to Arsenal: the Norwegian winger who won the summer
Leipzig know what they have. They want £51m, and they aren’t backing down. Fair play to them. Given his age, raw talent, and how he stepped up under the international spotlight, that price tag feels completely fair. It might even look cheap in a year or two. Expect clubs outside England to take notice soon, too.
Antonio Nusa to Arsenal: a player built for the Premier League
Look closely at his Bundesliga numbers from last term, and you see a kid who is already making an impact while still figuring out his game. Beyond the four goals and three assists in 31 league appearances, FootyStats shows he created nine clear chances. His expected goals figure sat at 7.48. That places him in the top 82nd percentile of Bundesliga players, proving he causes way more chaos than his basic goal count suggests.
He took 61 shots, hit a top speed of 34.64 km/h, and ran a punishing 237.8 km over the course of the season. He presses like crazy, loves running into space behind full-backs, and carries the ball directly at defenders. The Premier League loves that sort of directness. A 7.16 average rating on FotMob over the entire campaign confirms what anyone watching him already knew.
Put him in Mikel Arteta‘s setup and things get interesting. He gives Arsenal a different dynamic out wide: unpredictable, raw, and full of running, with plenty of scope to grow under a manager who loves structure.
Antonio Nusa to Arsenal: why Spurs are also in the picture
Tottenham stepping into the ring turns this into a proper scrap. They had a tough domestic campaign last year, finishing well below mid-table. Normally, that hurts your chances with top-tier talent. But they have Champions League football in their back pocket following a run in the Europa League. That matters. For a 21-year-old choosing his next home, both sides offer a massive stage.
North London rivalries make everything messier. Neither side wants to hand the other a victory here, especially now both have made their interest known to the player’s camp. A proper bidding contest could easily push the final fee beyond Leipzig’s initial £51m demand.
Scorzo’s opinion
This kid is the real deal. Forget about agent talk trying to engineer a contract extension; the World Cup performances were legitimate, and the underlying Bundesliga data backs up the eye test. At £51m, he looks like a much smarter option than several of the inflated names Arsenal have been linked with over the last few months.
Read: Arsenal willing to include £64m signing in deal to sign Julian Alavarez
Tottenham are the wildcard. If Spurs pull their finger out and pitch him a clearer path into the starting eleven, they can make life very difficult for Berta and Arteta. Leipzig are sitting back, happily letting the market do its thing. With two Premier League rivals at the table, that price tag is only going one way. Arsenal need to get this done fast.