Arsenal Competes with Manchester United for Shakhtar Starlet Elias
Arsenal’s preparations for their Premier League title defence are no longer just about fine‑tuning Mikel Arteta’s starting XI. They are also about the future – and that is where Kaua Elias Nogueira comes in.
Fresh from a statement 3-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield in Cardiff, the champions are being linked with one of Europe’s most talked-about young forwards. The Community Shield felt routine, almost cold-blooded. The work off the pitch is anything but.
Arsenal turn to Shakhtar’s Brazilian gem
TEAMtalk report that Arsenal have joined Manchester United and a cluster of top European clubs in the chase for Shakhtar Donetsk attacker Elias, who has been rapidly building a reputation since arriving in Ukraine.
Shakhtar paid around £14.5m to bring the Brazilian from Fluminense in February 2025. It already looks shrewd business. Still only 20, Elias has produced 15 goals in 49 appearances for the Ukrainian champions, numbers that stand out for a player still learning the European game.
His latest audition turned into a full-blown showcase. On August 3, at Arena Lviv, he delivered a perfect hat-trick – left foot, right foot, header – in a 5-1 demolition of Kudrivka in the domestic top flight. It wasn’t just the goals, it was the manner of them: movement, timing, conviction.
No wonder the stands were packed with scouts. Around 10 clubs, including Arsenal and Manchester United, were in attendance to watch him tear Kudrivka apart. If there was any doubt about the level of interest before that game, it vanished by the final whistle.
Shakhtar, as ever, know what they have. The club value Elias at around £30m and are understood to be open to a sale either in this window or after the 2026-27 season. AC Milan and Porto are among the other sides tracking him, adding further weight to the sense that this is a race that will not be won cheaply or quietly.
Where would Elias actually play?
For Arsenal, the link comes at a time when the squad already looks powerful. Bruno Guimaraes has arrived from Newcastle United to add control and bite in midfield, and there remains a clear desire inside the club to land a top-level forward before the window closes on September 1.
That forward will not be Vinicius Junior, who has committed his future to Real Madrid with a new deal. So the search continues, and Elias offers something different: not a ready-made superstar, but a high-ceiling project with the raw numbers to justify the noise around him.
The question is simple: would he play?
Arteta can already call on Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz in central attacking roles. Both are established, both trusted in big games. Breaking into that set-up immediately would be a huge task for a 20-year-old arriving from the Ukrainian Premier League.
Manchester United present a similar obstacle. Under Michael Carrick, the focus in attack has turned to Benjamin Sesko, the Slovenia international seen as a long-term focal point at Old Trafford. Elias, again, would be walking into a hierarchy that does not obviously leave room for him to start.
That is where the decision becomes more complex than just badge and salary. With Shakhtar open to a major sale and Europe’s elite circling, Elias has reached the point where his next move will define the next three or four years of his career.
Does he choose the glamour of Arsenal or Manchester United and risk being the third or fourth option? Or does he head somewhere like Milan or Porto, where the pathway to regular minutes might be clearer and the pressure, at least initially, a little lighter?
For a prodigy already proving he can dominate in Ukraine, the next step is not about who shouts loudest in the transfer race. It is about who can genuinely promise him the one thing that matters most now: a pitch, a shirt, and the chance to play every week.
