Mikel Arteta and Elliot Anderson (Photo: George Wood, Karl Lecine/Getty Images)
Arsenal are reportedly the latest big club to join the transfer race for Nottingham Forest central midfielder Elliott Anderson, and it’s easy to see why.
The talented young England international has received rave reviews recently, including for his performance against Serbia last night, firmly cementing his place as a starter for Thomas Tuchel’s side at the 2026 World Cup.
Fichajes said Arsenal are currently desperate to win the race for Elliott, with reports also mentioning interest from Manchester United and Chelsea.
Could Arsenal pay a high price for Elliott Anderson?
The report makes it clear that Anderson will not come cheap, with Forest likely needing more than £100m to convince him to sell.
However, the Gunners appear to be completely convinced of signing Anderson, with Mikel Arteta and his technical staff seeing the 23-year-old as the perfect fit and an upgrade to their current options.
That’s quite a compliment considering Anderson’s arrival would put him alongside the likes of Declan Rice and Martin Zvimendi in Arsenal’s midfield, but the statistics really support this claim.
Comparing Elliott Anderson to other elite midfielders in the Premier League
Tuchel recently claimed that Andersson is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, but that is no mere exaggeration.
See below to see how Anderson compares to Rice, Zvimendi and Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo. To give you an idea of how well he is doing now…
Anderson is slightly better than Rice and Zvimendi in terms of retaining the ball and winning duels, something Arteta appreciates.
He also holds his own when it comes to forward and progressive passing, so it’s easy to see that he would be perfect for the type of football Arsenal want to play.
Manchester United will also want to build around such top talent, but Ruben Amorim needs an upgrade over the aging Casemiro.
Chelsea already have an excellent midfield duo in Caicedo and Enzo Fernandes, but we also know how much Chelsea want to sign the best young players in world football, so signing Andersson makes sense as a target for the owner’s long-term project.