Arsenal desperate to beat Man Utd to Elliot Anderson transfer

Arsenal are reportedly the latest big club to join the race for the transfer of Nottingham Forest central midfielder Elliot Anderson, and it’s easy to see why.

The talented young England international has been earning rave reviews in recent times, including for his performance against Serbia last night that has surely all but cemented his place as a starter for Thomas Tuchel’s side at the 2026 World Cup.

According to Fichajes, Arsenal are now desperate to win the race for Elliot, with their report also mentioning interest from Manchester United and Chelsea.

Could Arsenal pay big for Elliot Anderson transfer?

The report makes it clear that Anderson won’t come cheap, with £100m or more possibly set to be required to convince Forest to sell.

It seems the Gunners are fully convinced about going in for Anderson, though, with Mikel Arteta and his technical staff seeing the 23-year-old as a perfect fit and an upgrade on his current options.

That’s quite the compliment for Anderson, given that he’d be joining the likes of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi in the Arsenal midfield if he joined, but the stats really back this claim up.

How Elliot Anderson compares to other elite Premier League midfielders

Tuchel recently claimed that Anderson is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, and that’s not just hyperbole.

See below for a look at how Anderson compares to Rice, Zubimendi, and to Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo, just to give you an idea of how well he’s doing right now…

Anderson is some way ahead of Rice and Zubimendi in terms of winning possession and winning his duels, which is something Arteta values highly.

He also really holds his own when it comes to forward passes and progressive passes, so it’s easy to see him being perfect for the kind of football Arsenal want to play.

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One imagines Man Utd would also dearly love to build around a top talent like this, with Ruben Amorim in need of an upgrade on the ageing Casemiro.

Chelsea already have an excellent midfield pairing with Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, but we also know how much they like to move for the best young players in world football, so Anderson makes sense as a target for their ownership’s long-term project.