Arsenal Are Going Back for Antonio Nusa: The £55m Norwegian Wonderkid Who Solves the Tzolis Injury Crisis

Arsenal’s injury curse has struck again — and this time it could hand Mikel Arteta the January signing he wanted all summer. With £34m summer arrival Christos Tzolis facing three weeks out after limping off for Greece, the Gunners have revived their interest in RB Leipzig’s 21-year-old Norwegian sensation Antonio Nusa, and the numbers suggest he is the most exciting young winger in Europe.

The Tzolis Blow: 18 Minutes That Changed Arsenal’s January

It took just 18 minutes in Thessaloniki to turn Arsenal’s January transfer plans upside down. Tzolis, the £34m summer signing from Club Brugge brought in as Leandro Trossard’s replacement, lasted barely a quarter of an hour of Greece’s 2-2 Nations League draw with the Netherlands on October 1 before pulling up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. The 24-year-old tried to play on — Greece coach Ivan Jovanovic later revealed the winger flatly refused to come off — but the medical staff won the argument, and Tzolis was sent home to London for scans.

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“I told him to get out, because I suspected that he wouldn’t have done that if he hadn’t felt something,” Jovanovic told Sport24 afterwards. “We don’t know how big the damage is today, but I hoped it was just a twitch, something temporary.”

Reports from Greece suggest Tzolis faces 15 to 20 days on the sidelines — up to three weeks — which would rule him out of the Premier League clashes with Leeds United (October 10) and Nottingham Forest (October 18), plus Champions League ties against Lille and Bayern Munich. A return against Everton on October 24 is the realistic target, as football.london reported.

And Tzolis is not an isolated case. Kai Havertz suffered a hamstring problem with Germany, Declan Rice withdrew from England duty, and Martin Ødegaard needed ankle scans after a late Bernardo Silva challenge in Norway’s defeat to Portugal. As covered in our breakdown of Arteta’s five biggest decisions ahead of the Leeds clash, Eberechi Eze is now auditioning for an extended run on the left flank — but Eze is a short-term patch. The January market is where Arteta needs a real answer, and that is where Antonio Nusa comes in.

Who Is Antonio Nusa? Leipzig’s Norwegian Wonderkid

Antonio Nusa is 21 years old, right-footed, 183cm of pure Norwegian chaos, and already one of the most feared young dribblers in European football. Born in Langhus on 17 April 2005, he made 86 senior appearances for Club Brugge before RB Leipzig paid around £18m (€21m) to take him to Germany in 2024.

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It looked like a developmental signing. It is turning into a superstar one. Nusa is now a nailed-on Leipzig starter and a full Norway international with 30 caps and 9 goals, operating primarily as a left winger who cuts inside onto his stronger right foot — the exact profile Arteta has built his attacking structure around on the opposite flank with Bukayo Saka.

His contract runs until 2029, which is precisely why Leipzig hold all the cards. But Arsenal’s interest is not new: according to football.london, citing German outlet Fussball News, the Gunners were already circling in the summer and were prepared to field a £34m offer before Leipzig made clear the winger was not for sale. The Tzolis injury has simply forced the issue back to the top of the agenda — and this time Arsenal are not alone.

The Numbers: A Dribble Machine Having a Breakout Season

Strip away the hype and the numbers are startling. Last season Nusa managed 4 goals and 3 assists in 31 Bundesliga appearances — respectable for a 20-year-old adapting to a new league. This season he has 2 goals and 2 assists in just 4 league appearances, a goal contribution every 86 minutes, and 3 goals and 3 assists in 9 games across all competitions.

But the headline stat is the dribbling. Nusa is currently ranked number one in the Bundesliga for successful dribbles per game (3.00) — ahead of every established star in Germany’s top flight. In the Nations League he is attempting 8.33 dribbles per game and completing 4.33; in the DFB-Pokal those numbers rocket to 13 attempted and 7 completed per game. Nobody in Europe’s top five leagues beats a man quite like this 21-year-old right now.

And this is not empty trickery. Per bundesliga.com’s official player data, Nusa has clocked a top speed of 35.18 km/h this season, produced 85 sprints and 252 intensive runs in just four league games, and — crucially for an Arteta winger — won 39 tackles. His signature performance came on September 13, when he registered two assists and a 9.3 rating in Leipzig’s 5-0 demolition of Hamburger SV. The breakout is not coming. It has arrived.

Tactical Fit: Why Nusa Is Built for Arteta’s 4-3-3

Tactically, Nusa is almost suspiciously perfect for what Arsenal do. Arteta’s 4-3-3 is built on inverted wingers who start wide, receive in the half-space and drive at the back post — Saka has defined the role on the right for five years, and the left side has been a revolving door of solutions ever since. Nusa is right-footed, left-sided, and devastating when cutting inside onto his stronger foot. He is, in the most literal sense, a left-footed mirror of the Saka role.

What separates him from a pure highlight-reel winger is the work without the ball. Arteta demands his wide players press in a 4-4-2 mid-block, track full-backs into their own third and win duels — 39 tackles won in four Bundesliga games suggests Nusa already does the dirty work that makes wingers selectable in a title-winning side. His 6 crosses per the official data also hint at a player who can vary his delivery rather than robotically cutting inside, which matters when Arsenal face low blocks and need width.

Compare him with the other winger Arsenal have been linked with and the contrast is instructive. As we detailed in our tactical-fit analysis of Kevin Schade, the Brentford man offers vertical running and box presence; Nusa offers something rarer — genuine one-v-one elimination in tight spaces, the skill that unlocks deep defences. Against the low blocks Arsenal see weekly, that is worth its weight in gold.

There is also the transition weapon. Nusa’s 35.18 km/h top speed and 85 sprints in four games mark him as an elite outlet runner — exactly the profile that punished Arsenal themselves when opponents countered last season.

The Price and the Race: £55m and Half of Europe

Here is the problem: everyone has noticed. The Scottish Sun reports that Leipzig have slapped a price tag of up to £55m on Nusa — against a market valuation of roughly £38m — and that Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle have all joined the race, with Roma making enquiries and Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid keeping close tabs. Inter, Napoli and Juventus are also credited with interest by Fussball News.

That is a brutal market. Spurs — with their own winger issues and a bottom-of-the-table crisis — are described as genuine rivals, and the presence of Bayern and Barcelona means Arsenal cannot afford a slow January negotiation. Leipzig, remember, refused to even entertain Arsenal’s £34m summer approach; with the player under contract until 2029 and his numbers exploding, they have zero incentive to sell mid-season unless someone meets the asking price in full.

But there is a counter-argument, and it is a strong one. Nusa’s camp know that a bidding war suits them, and Leipzig’s sporting model has always been to sell elite talent at peak value — the question is timing, not willingness. If Arsenal move decisively in January with a structured offer in the £45-50m range plus add-ons, they would be buying a 21-year-old whose per-90 output has tripled year on year, in a position where their depth has just been exposed by one hamstring. Waiting until summer risks a Barcelona or Bayern hijack — and risks Nusa’s price climbing further if he keeps producing at this rate.

Five Reasons Arsenal Cannot Lose the Nusa Race

1. The left wing is now a genuine emergency. Tzolis is out for up to three weeks, Havertz is sidelined, and Eze cannot cover two positions for a month. Arsenal’s title defence cannot survive on one fit left winger.

2. He is the Saka mirror Arteta has never had. Every elite side needs symmetrical wide threats. Nusa gives Arsenal a left-sided carrier with the same cut-inside profile that makes Saka unplayable, forcing defences to defend both flanks honestly.

3. The dribbling numbers are generational. Number one in the Bundesliga for successful dribbles per game at 21 — this is not potential, it is production. Players who beat men this often at this age almost always become superstars.

4. He does the Arteta non-negotiables. Thirty-nine tackles won in four league games, elite sprint numbers, disciplined pressing — Nusa is not a luxury player who needs carrying. He fits the defensive structure from day one.

5. The market will only get worse. At £55m with a contract to 2029 and output tripling, Nusa is expensive now and extortionate by summer. As we noted in our profile of Gilberto Mora, the 17-year-old at the centre of a 14-club scramble, the era of waiting for wonderkids to get cheaper is over — you pay the premium or you watch a rival do it.

Verdict: The Gamble Worth Taking

Is £55m a lot for a 21-year-old with one elite half-season? Yes. Is it too much? Probably not — not when the alternative is limping through a title race with a patched-up left flank while Tottenham, Bayern and Barcelona circle the most exciting young winger in Germany.

Arsenal’s recruitment under Arteta has been defined by decisive, conviction buys at the exact moment of need. The Tzolis injury, cruel as it is, has clarified the need. Antonio Nusa is the answer — a generational dribbler, a pressing monster and a tailor-made fit for the 4-3-3. The Gunners wanted him in the summer and walked away. In January, they cannot afford to walk away twice.