Premier League Team of The Season 2025/ 2026

Another Premier League season full of drama and excitement comes to a close.

Arsenal triumphant after 22 years of wait, whilst City fall just short as Pep says goodbye to England, leaving as one of the greatest managers of all time.

Man United, Aston Villa, and Liverpool all secure Champions League football next season, and Bournemouth and Sunderland top of their brilliant seasons with a place in the Europa League. There has been an abundance of talent on show, but this is the most favoured Team of the Season:

GK: David Raya (ARS)

No debate here really. City fans argue Donnarumma is a better shotstopper, but he’s not. Of course big credit goes to Arsenal’s unbelievable defensive line for the minimal goals they’ve conceded, but take nothing away from David Raya. Another golden glove and thoroughly deserved, a proper Premier League winning goalkeeper. Comes up with big saves countless times to keep Arsenal away from dropping points. I was watching back his best saves this season, and one really stood out that not a lot of people remember, it was a save on a Garnacho low cross that missed everyone and was heading into the far corner, nowhere near his best save but it’s moments like that where if his reactions weren’t as good as they are, City probably would’ve taken the title. A formidable goalkeeper and will shine for Spain this summer.

LB: Nico O’Reilly (MNC)

Again, a no-brainer. Cucurella started the season fantastically but since Enzo Maresca’s departure, it’s been all Nico O’Reilly. As I said in my England squad analysis, he’s such a complete full-back. Scored

and assisted big goals this season, brace in the Carabao Cup final, but also such a consistent 1v1 defender, quick and confident, will be a rock for City for many years to come. Breakout star of the season for sure, what a player. 15 g/a for a left back is not at all shabby.

CB: Gabriel Magalhães (ARS)

The best centre-back in the world. Has not put a foot wrong this season. An absolute magnet when it comes to getting on the end of set-pieces, Saliba has still been immense but the level of defending

shown by Gabriel this season gives all the evidence to show why Arsenal deservedly won the league. I said earlier on this season, if Arsenal win the Premier League and Champions League, and Brazil do alright this summer, Gabriel Ballon d’Or shouts aren’t a crazy take. Would be the first defender since Cannavaro, obviously PSG are the favourites to win in Budapest but with this momentum Arsenal have

right now, anything can happen. One of the most consistent players in the league, and I’m sure he’ll be part of lots more Arsenal trophies in the future.

CB: William Saliba (ARS)

The second CB option is a bit of a toss-up between Konsa, Saliba, and Marc Guehi, but I’m just edging it to Saliba. As I said in my thoughts on Gabriel, Saliba hasn’t been as good as his Brazilian counterpart, but he’s still been immaculate. Without him, Arsenal may have struggled in games which they controlled with Saliba at the back, another name who deserves to lift a Premier Leagut trophy. I’m a huge fan of Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi, and what a partnership England have at the back this summer, Konsa has been pivotal to Villa’s return to the Champions League and their Europa League triumphs, and a domestic double for Marc Guehi in his first season shows how well/quickly he has settled at City and how much of an impact he has made since signing. But in the end, you cannot turn away from a Premier League winner, so Saliba gets in for me.

RB: Matheus Nunes (MNC)

Matheus Nunes’ selections means a defensive five made up of purely City & Arsenal, and it’s pretty obvious why. If Jurrien Timber stayed fit he would’ve given Nunes a good run for his money, and if Chelsea weren’t so terrible, Reece James would certainly put up an argument, but the level of week-in-week-out consistency displayed by Matheus Nunes for Man City means he gets the nod. If I were picking a team based on pure ability, Reece James is in no question and I don’t think many would disagree, but a domestic double and 2nd in the League speaks for itself. 9 g/a, over 200 defensive contributions, and 12

clean sheets. Portugal could cause countries some serious problems this coming World Cup, and if they do go onto win the whole thing, Nunes is going to be a huge part of it. Will be interesting to see if his

role will shift under Enzo Maresca, but overall there’s no debate that he’s had an unbelievable season.

CM: Granit Xhaka (SUN)

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player become a fan favourite quicker than Granit Xhaka at Sunderland. Newly promoted, lots of pundits predicted Sunderland to go straight back down, but how wrong they

were. What a season they’ve had, outplayed Chelsea again yesterday to cement their spot in 7th and qualify for European football, an unbelievable achievement. Xhaka was an instant success, coming up

to Christmas Sunderland were ranging from 2nd to 6th in the league, with big results against Chelsea, Arsenal, Bournemouth, and Newcastle. Without Xhaka I’m sure they wouldn’t have had half of the

success, and the team spirit around the squad looks so refreshing, so they completely deserve to be playing at the level they will be next season. Doing the league double against Newcastle must’ve been

the highlight of Sunderland fans’ season. 9 clean sheets for a newly promoted side is impressive, 363 defensive contributions is insane. 33 years old but has the legs and stamina of a 23 year old. What a

signing, definitely in the team of the season.

CM: Declan Rice (ARS)

Not a lot needs to be said about Declan Rice as a footballer this season. It’s hard to decide who has been Arsenal player of the season, for me it's between Rice, Gabriel, and Raya, but the arguments for Declan Rice are seriously strong. 5 goals and 9 assists, as well as just over 400 defensive contributions, no wonder he’s loved by every single Arsenal fan. Was very wholesome seeing him, Saka, Eze, and Timber outside the Emirates at 5am after being crowned Premier League champions. 13 Premier League clean sheets, 63 chances created, the stats speak for themselves. So glad he’s fit and ready to dictate that England midfield alongside Bellingham (and most likely Anderson). Again, if Arsenal go onto win the Champions League and England can produce a miracle this summer, I assume he’ll win the Ballon d’Or but it’s all down to the World Cup. Never puts a foot wrong in an Arsenal shirt and just a joy to watch (minus the performative scanning). 10/10 season no doubt.

CAM: Bruno Fernandez (MNU)

The PFA Player of the Season, and rightly so. Another formidable season for one of Manchester United’s best ever attacking midfielders. Has never had a season below 20 g/a (and that was his first season where he only played 22 matches). You can think what you want about Bruno Fernandes as a character, I know a lot of people don’t like him, saying he complains too much, but you cannot take anything away from his footballing ability. His assist vs Brighton yesterday makes it 21 assists this season, breaking the record for most assists in a Premier League season (De Bruyne & Henry - 20). Taken a struggling Ruben Amorim side to finishing 3rd and securing UCL football at Old Trafford next season which is always great to see. Seems to never miss a game, always creating chances and dictating the pace of the game. Saudi called in January but that was shut down quickly, he’s United through and through, no way he’s leaving.

All time stats for United: 317 appearances, 107 goals, 97 assists, absolutely ridiculous numbers. 100% the player of the season, and as I’ve said for many of these players, Bruno is going to be KEY for Portugal at the World Cup, that middle three of him, Vitinha, and Joao Neves/Bernardo Silva is criminally good. Can’t see why they can’t do something magical with that squad, and no wonder Bruno is the main man right now.

LW: Jeremy Doku (MNC)

I really want to put a non-City/non-Arsenal choice on the wings, but the Premier League wing options right now might be the worst the league has seen. Only a handful of technical, fearless wingers (including Ndiaye, Estevao and others) but Doku is the best of the bunch, and he’s seriously good. People criticized him in the past saying he has the skill and pace to beat defenders but his output wasn’t good enough, and my god he’s certainly turned that around.

Doku is the type of player that when you get the notification that he’s scored, you know it’s a peachy goal. 10 goals and 11 assists in all comps this season, completed the most dribbles out of any player in

the League, not much more you can ask for. Again, some of the goals he’s scored, for example: Liverpool (H) and his brace vs Everton (A), just take your breath away. All it takes for him to skip past his man is a

little shimmy, most commonly to cut inside and cross/shoot, but he’s worked on his game lots so now the option to take it down the line and use his weaker foot is equally good. Magnificent player.

RW: Antoine Semenyo (MNC/BOU)

Another City player makes the cut. Scored 10 times in the League for Bournemouth before his move to Manchester, and since then no City player has scored more than him. Added another 10 goals and 4

assists to his count, him and Marc Guehi seemed to slip into that City Starting XI so comfortably, which in recent times for the League in general, is a rarity. Normally, fans give a player a season or two to make a full judgement, but there’s no need to question Semenyo’s impact this season. Scored the winner vs Chelsea in the FA Cup Final so has already cemented his name in Man City history. A bad game

for Semenyo is a rarity, but when he does the options off the bench are so strong that it hardly matters. Strong, quick, technical, a perfect addition to that squad, no wonder a handful of big teams were looking to sign him, and fair enough Pep’s charm was enough to convince him. such a good player to watch, has to be in this team.

ST: Erling Haaland (MNC)

I’m taking a full City front three, take nothing away from Igor Thiago’s season long form in front of goal, but lots of fans almost turn a blind eye at Haaland because his stats seem normal to him, but when you actually look, he’s still the Prem’s best. 41 goals and 10 assists in all competitions (27G and 8A in the Premier League), those numbers are an absolute joke. Yes, he had a bit of a dip at the start of 2026 but he found his form in front of goal as the end of the season drew closer, and despite not winning the League you can’t ignore him. Shoutout to Joao Pedro who has had an unbelievable debut season in Chelsea blue, with 23 (all non-penalty) goals and 6 assists, but Chelsea being so poor in the second half of the season none of their players make this XI. I know it’s a boring answer to say Haaland but it is the correct answer.

Honourable mentions

Robin Roefs (SUN)

Ezri Konsa (AVL)

Matty Cash (AVL)

Dominik Szoboszlai (LIV)

Casemiro (MNU)

Elliot Anderson (NFO)

Morgan Gibbs-White (NFO)

Junior Kroupi (BOU)

Rayan Cherki (MNC)

Morgan Rogers (AVL)

Harry Wilson (FUL)

Joao Pedro (CHE)

Igor Thiago (BRE)

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (LEE))