Antonio Nusa is a target of Arsenal and Mikel Arteta's recent comments on the transfer window could hint at Martin Odegaard involvement in any potential move

Arsenal hold an interest in RB Leipzig winger Antonio Nusa ahead of the January transfer window, football.london understands. The Norwegian international is one of several players the club are keen on, with Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi understood to be another.

The Gunners sit top of the Premier League table ahead of their clash with Hull City, and could yet extend their lead by the time the winter market opens. While the window remains around two months away, the looming international break offers managers such as Mikel Arteta an opportunity.

Targets will be flying off to join up with their respective national teams; it allows suitors to assess the players in different environments. However, not only that, but often they are playing with a different calibre of player, or in some cases, potential future teammates and therefore Arsenal, for example, could understand how they might mesh.

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Nusa will be playing alongside Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard over the break with Norway playing Wales and Denmark. football.london asked Arteta during his pre-match press conference about how the break informs their transfer strategy and how it can be beneficial.

“Yes, we do,” he said when asked if the international matches are used to aid in their work ahead of the window. “And obviously, when we have the opportunity to talk to our players about some players that they share two or three weeks together with, it's very valuable information.

“I think we all do that. It is a big difference between the Premier League and international football and what is there. But there's always a lot to learn.”

Arsenal will have competition for Nusa, and after the injury suffered by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, it is understood that the French side are active and assessing options in the market on the left wing.

Nusa has already scored five goals and contributed seven assists for Leipzig so far this season, with the 21-year-old on track to secure his most prolific season yet. He came close to a move to Brentford in the past but an issue flagged in the medical raised concerns and collapsed the deal.

Speaking in March 2024 he said, “So they got a little worried”, he told VG.

“That’s okay. We were worried of course. Something wasn’t right. It was important to get to the bottom of it. We’ve done that now.

“It’s about health. As a footballer, you want to be 100%. I was afraid there was something wrong with my body. Those were difficult times, but it wasn’t really a problem. That’s what we found out.”