Why Arsenal, Tottenham & Newcastle are ready to battle it out for Norway sensation Nusa

[p]Thomas Tuchel's England stand in the way of a semi-final berth against either reigning champions Argentina or Switzerland, and with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/haaland-erling/UmV9iQmE/"]Erling Haaland[/a] firing on all cylinders, Stale Solbakken will feel confident that his team will give a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/england-j9N9ZNFA/norway-8rP6JO0H/?mid=UyLHmWuh"]good account of themselves in Atlanta[/a].[/p][p]Haaland's succession of goals will ensure that he always remains both the focal point on the pitch and the talking point of it. At the time of writing, he's still scored more goals than he's made international appearances (62 goals in 54 games), a quite incredible statistic in this day and age.[/p][embed guid="ccff8ce2-86be-4b67-977e-e9e1e538ecc7" url="https://x.com/ErlingHaaland/status/2074256347906912637" social-type="twitter" /][p]For every great goalscorer, however, you need a great supporting cast, and Haaland can consider himself lucky that he has a player alongside him who can either feed him incessantly or take the chance himself.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nusa-antonio/rHwRvHQp/"]Antonio Nusa[/a] isn't exactly under the radar as a player, but Haaland's sheer presence overshadows that of most of his teammates.[/p][h2]Nusa a wanted man[/h2][p]The former may well be joining the latter in the Premier League, however, with news that both [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tottenham/UDg08Ohm/"]Tottenham [/a]have joined Newcastle in the race to sign him. Spurs were previously interested in him before he went to Leipzig, of course.[/p][p]The Magpies would appear to be the most desperate to get Nusa to put pen to paper, having lost [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gordon-anthony/EFo95m2P/"]Anthony Gordon[/a] to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a]. Not to mention [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tonali-sandro/fmQVO5TQ/"]Sandro Tonali[/a]'s departure to Tottenham and the potentially devastating consequences of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bruno-guimaraes/xtyKanzU/"]Bruno Guimaraes[/a] wanting to move to Arsenal.[/p][embed guid="c76432c8-0c18-4976-8d64-43b06960099f" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1748260360191111571" social-type="twitter" /][p]That said, the North London duo haven't been put off by the rumoured £51m transfer fee that his current employers [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/rb-leipzig/KbS1suSm/"]RB Leipzig[/a] have put on his head, according to reports.[/p][p]That would represent a healthy profit for the Bundesliga outfit, which signed the 21-year-old from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/club-brugge/rgTHIK74/"]Club Brugge[/a] in August 2024 for just £18m.[/p][h2]Direct running style[/h2][p]It's obvious why the player appears to be in such demand, too.[/p][p]Lightning fast from a standing start, Nusa likes nothing better than being given the responsibility of taking on and beating his direct marker, often resulting in an assist or a goal.[/p][image alt="Antonio Nusa attacking carries - Bundesliga 2025/26" id="4d0c26bb-ff8a-4732-be5a-67b9a09a392f" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="72fa65a6-dded-462d-a5ae-3536262d8c2a" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]Defenders hate his direct running style and his ability to go either inside or outside with equal aplomb.[/p][p]Aside from scoring against Ivory Coast in Norway's 2-1 win in the Round of 32, the winger has been a thorn in the side of all of the Norwegian team's opponents, and as the England back four are likely to find out if they're not on the front foot in the game, they can't give him even half a yard to work in, or else he'll exploit any space afforded him.[/p][h2]10 goals and 10 assists in 71 games[/h2][p]In the two seasons that he's been at Leipzig, he's amassed 10 goals and 10 assists in 71 games in all competitions, which is a more than reasonable return for a wide man.[/p][p]He's also created 75 chances (including 21 big chances), which are both the second-most in the squad behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raum-david/2XVqEh8k/"]David Raum[/a], though Nusa's 78.71% pass completion success could do with improvement, particularly if he were going to sign for the Gunners. [/p][image alt="Antonio Nusa's recent stats" id="35ad134c-d490-4879-9039-add1ef8175aa" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="a784e2d4-e507-4700-ba76-d450ef8434ec" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Only Raum once again has made more crosses than Nusa since the latter's transfer to the club, though his 19.92% cross accuracy is slightly worse than the Norwegian's 20.49%.[/p][p]Nusa's 27 successful through balls were only bettered by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simons-xavi/noo0L9zk/"]Xavi Simons[/a] (28) and Christoph Baumgartner (30), and those passes were much more accurate than his completed long ball attempts (37).[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diomande-yan/0p2ORrJi/"]Yan Diomande[/a]'s 132 completed dribbles (from 235 attempted) were only slightly more than Nusa's 127 (from 279 attempted), with both players streets ahead of their teammates (third-placed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sesko-benjamin/QDozP4IN/"]Benjamin Sesko[/a] only completed 50).[/p][h2]Great defensive work rate[/h2][p]In terms of work rate, he can't really be faulted either, as 208 ball recoveries would help to attest, as well as attempting 624 one-on-one duels across the two seasons.[/p][p]71 tackles attempted (41 of which were won) may not sound like a lot, but in context - only four Leipzig players attempted more - it speaks of a player more than willing to invest in that side of the game when required too.[/p][image alt="Antonio Nusa touch map - Bundesliga 2025/26" id="5b1082bc-cecd-4d5d-bb7d-ab6e1a8dc416" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="afc5bc91-aa37-48c8-86bb-58d1a9bb6ff0" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]That's important because both Mikel Arteta and Roberto De Zerbi demand a lot of their players, so if Nusa wanted to become a success, taking the defensive aspects of his game seriously is a prerequisite. [/p][p]With at least one game at the World Cup left to play, the winger still has the chance to shine again on the biggest stage, and perhaps add a few more pounds to his transfer fee if he provides a match-winning performance.[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]