THE NEXT STAR: WHY ARSENAL BELIEVE ANTONIO NUSA IS THEIR ULTIMATE ATTACKING SPARK
Arsenal lead the race for Antonio Nusa! Read about the €60m valuation and why Liverpool and Man Utd are also tracking the winger.
Arsenal have had their eye on Antonio Nusa for a while now, gearing up for a big summer as they look to beef up the squad. Nusa, the Norwegian forward lighting up the Bundesliga, has turned into one of the league’s most exciting attackers lately. Rumours are flying that he’s ready for a new challenge once the season wraps up.
Playing for RB Leipzig, Nusa keeps delivering quick, creative, and always a threat up front. He’s become a huge part of Leipzig’s attack, and clubs all over Europe are taking notice. Arsenal’s scouts haven’t missed a beat, tracking his progress and weighing up whether he’s the spark their attack needs.
Liverpool isn’t sitting this one out either. They already checked in on Nusa during the last transfer window, after missing out on Antoine Semenyo. So, Arsenal won’t be alone once the season ends; expect some serious competition from their Premier League rivals, which just makes the whole thing trickier.
Lately, Arsenal has stepped up its scouting. Fussball Daten says Nusa is now one of their main targets, and they’ve sent multiple scouts to keep tabs on him. This isn’t just a passing interest; they’re serious about landing a top attacking talent.
Leipzig, for their part, seems to know what’s coming. They’re bracing themselves for offers and are likely to set a firm asking price for Nusa. That should give Arsenal and Liverpool a better sense of what it’ll take to get a deal done.
Nusa won’t come cheap. He’s young, talented, and keeps getting better in Germany, so Leipzig will want a big fee. Still, both Arsenal and Liverpool have shown they’re willing to spend to get the right player. Money probably won’t be the thing that stops them.
If Nusa keeps playing the way he has been, Arsenal and Liverpool look ready to match Leipzig’s demands and go all-in for one of their top summer targets.
ARTETA HITS BACK: ARSENAL BOSS UNAPOLOGETIC ABOUT "RUTHLESS" CORNER TACTICS BEFORE BRIGHTON CLASH
Mikel Arteta isn't backing down! Read about Arsenal's record-tying corner goals and the "time-wasting" row with Brighton's Hurzeler.
Mikel Arteta isn’t losing sleep over the criticism of Arsenal’s set-piece tactics, even after Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler stirred things up before their Wednesday clash by taking a few shots at Arsenal’s style. Set pieces have become a big deal in the Premier League this season, and honestly, Arsenal are running the show. That kind of dominance is bound to ruffle some feathers.
Sunday’s win over Chelsea made it pretty clear that both Arsenal goals came from corners. That puts them at 19 set-piece goals in 29 league games, five more than Newcastle and a whopping 12 ahead of Brighton. Brighton might not score as many from set pieces, but they’re tough to break down, having conceded just five set-piece goals, the best defensive record in the league.
This whole debate blew up again after Liverpool’s Arne Slot complained that set pieces are ruining the flow of matches, making games less fun to watch. Stats back it up: nearly 28% of Premier League goals this season have come from non-penalty set pieces, the highest since 2009-10.
Hurzeler didn’t hold back when asked for his take on Tuesday. He pointed fingers at Arsenal, saying set pieces mess with the game’s rhythm and that there aren’t clear rules about how long teams can take for corners or throw-ins. “Some of the blocking or the way teams are blocking, there’s no clear rule; sometimes it’s a foul, sometimes it’s not,” he said. His main gripe? He wants clear rules on how much time teams can waste. “When Arsenal are leading and have a corner, sometimes they take over a minute just to kick the ball. We end up with 50 minutes of actual game time instead of 65. The difference is huge.”
He added, “Fans pay a lot to watch us play. They want to see football, not 40 minutes of standing around while the ball isn’t in play.”
Arteta faced the criticism in his press conference. When asked if he thinks other teams would love to be as ruthless on set pieces as Arsenal, he didn’t hesitate. “I want us to be the best. I get frustrated that we don’t score more and that we still concede, too,” he said. “We want to dominate every part of the game. That’s our goal as a team and as a club. So let’s keep pushing.”
And as for the critics? Arteta just shrugged: “Part of the job.”
"SET-PIECE AGAIN": WHY ARSENAL FANS ARE TAUNTING RIVALS WITH THEIR NEW CHANT.
William Saliba and Jurrien Timber headers secured a vital win for Arsenal as Chelsea finished with ten men at the Emirates.
Arsenal found the net twice from corners and let one in the same way, a clear sign of just how much set pieces matter in the Premier League these days.
William Saliba got Arsenal going with his first goal since December, putting them ahead at the Emirates. But Arsenal didn’t hold the lead for long. Just before halftime, Piero Hincapie scored an own goal from one of Reece James’ wicked corners, pulling Chelsea level.
After the break, Timber popped up with a crucial header, sealing three points for Arsenal. Things got worse for Chelsea when Pedro Neto saw red for a second yellow.
With this win, Arsenal’s second in a row, they stretched their lead over Manchester City back to five points. City still has a game in hand after edging Leeds 1-0 on Saturday, but Arsenal keeps the pressure on.
People were starting to question Arsenal’s nerve after a rough patch that reopened the title race. But they’ve bounced back at just the right time. Last weekend, they smashed Tottenham 4-1. This time, they ground out a much tighter victory.
Now, Arsenal heads to Brighton on Wednesday, with just nine games left as they chase their first league title since 2004.
They’re still fighting on all fronts, too: League Cup final, Champions League last 16, and FA Cup fifth round. And here’s a break for Arteta: they only have one more league game against a top-six side, and it’s a big one: a trip to Manchester City on April 18.
For Chelsea, things are going the other way. That’s three games without a win, and their Champions League hopes just took another hit. They’re down to sixth, and they’ve now lost to Arsenal three times since Liam Rosenior took charge.
Chelsea almost handed Arsenal an early present when Robert Sanchez, under pressure from Viktor Gyokeres, nearly fumbled the ball away. Somehow, he recovered just in time.
But Sanchez looked shaky again soon after, and Rosenior could only watch in disbelief. Arsenal sensed blood and struck first, using one of the set-piece coach Nicolas Jover’s clever routines. Gabriel Magalhaes rose above everyone to head Bukayo Saka’s corner across the six-yard box, where Saliba finished it off, though it needed a deflection off Mamadou Sarr to find the net.
Set pieces are haunting Rosenior’s Chelsea. That’s eight goals conceded from dead balls in his first 13 matches; four of those were against Arsenal alone.
Chelsea did hit back, though. Right before the break, Reece James’ corner bounced off Declan Rice’s shoulder, forcing a sharp save from David Raya. Arsenal didn’t heed the warning. From the next corner, James whipped it in again, and Hincapie headed it into his own net.
The danger didn’t stop there. James kept swinging corners in, and Joao Pedro missed two decent chances, one straight at Raya and another wide of the mark.
Those missed chances cost Chelsea. In the 66th minute, Arsenal struck again from a corner. Timber timed his run perfectly and headed home from Rice’s delivery. Chelsea shouted for a foul on Sanchez, but the goal stood.
That’s 16 goals from corners for Arsenal this season. Their fans loved it, singing, “Set-piece again, ole, ole.”
Not long after, Neto lost his cool, clattering Gabriel Martinelli and picking up a second yellow. That left Chelsea with ten men for the final stretch.
Arsenal still needed one more big save from Raya in stoppage time to deny Alejandro Garnacho, but once that danger passed, the celebration really began.
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