The 2025/26 season was a historic one for Arsenal Football Club. Mikel Arteta’s men finally got over the line and lifted the Premier League title after three consecutive seasons as runners-up. The league triumph ended the club’s unacceptably long 22-year wait for Premier League glory. To go with that, The Gunners reached only their second ever Champions League Final, but heartbreaking lost on penalties to defending Champs Paris Saint-Germain. Let’s take a look at the player ratings from an unforgettable season that saw Arsenal return to the top of English football once again.
David Raya – 9.5
The Spaniard had his best season to date as the Arsenal number one, and cemented himself as, without a doubt, one of the best goalkeepers in world football. He retained the Premier League Golden Glove award, making it a historic 3 on the bounce for our 30-year-old shot-stopper. Throughout the season, he made some unbelievable saves at crucial moments, none more important than his 78th-minute save of Mateus Fernandes’ shot at The London Stadium. At 0-0, with the title still in the balance, his world class save from point-blank range kept us in the game, only for Trossard to go down the other end and bag us the winner minutes later. We’re lucky to have this guy in between the sticks.
Kepa Arrizabalaga – 3
Some might say this is a harsh rating, but I think it’s merited. His spilling of Rayan Cherki’s cross, which should’ve been a routine catch, was a big reason for our Carabao Cup Final loss to Manchester City back in March. We were the better team in the first-half, and while Manchester City were growing into the game in the second-half, gifting them pretty much a free goal in a major final was just unacceptable and took the game away from us. Who knows, maybe if David Raya had started at Wembley that afternoon, we may have finished the season with an additional piece of silverware.
Jurrien Timber – 8
Timber had a brilliant season for us that was unfortunately ended prematurely due to injury, despite his best efforts of playing while not 100% fit in the Champions League Final (off the bench). He has made the right-back position his own, and is one of the first names on the team sheet. His clean sheet, brace and assist in our 5-0 demolition of Leeds at the start of the campaign was enough to earn him a 10/10 WhoScored player rating. His withdrawal from the Netherlands World Cup Squad will be a painful one on a personal level, but will hopefully give the 25-year-old some much needed rest & recovery ahead of our title defence of next season.
Ben White – 7
When Timber got injured at the back end of the campaign, Ben White did what Ben White does, and came back into the side seamlessly to offer some much-needed grit, resilience and consistency. His right-side connection with Saka is still something we miss when he’s not starting. He’s still a greatly valued member of this squad.
William Saliba – 9
Saliba has reached a level of consistency now that he can regularly put in 9/10 performances and get 0 praise for them. We have become (almost unfairly) accustomed to his greatness. Slick, smooth, strong, intelligent, powerful. He really is a Rolls Royce of a defender. This season’s title success has cemented him and Gabriel as one of the greatest centre-back partnerships in Premier League history. Signed for just £27M in 2019, he will go down as one of the biggest bargains the league has ever seen. He somehow continues to get better.
Gabriel – 9.5
Our 28-year-old monster had another imperious campaign at the heart of our defence. As just stated, getting over the line and winning the league has cemented him and Saliba as one of the greatest defensive partnerships in Premier League history. They really do both have everything together and complement each other so perfectly. The reason he gets a 0.5 rating higher than his partner is due to his threat in the opposition box. His stoppage time winner in our 2-1 away win vs Newcastle, his header in our 4-0 UCL demolition of Atletico, his opening goal at home to Villa in our 4-1 win on New Year’s Day. There isn’t a player on Earth better in both boxes than Big Gabi. Without his injury, there’s a good chance he would’ve finished higher than 3rd in Arsenal’s 2025/26 Player of the Season voting.
Riccardo Calafiori – 7.5
Riccy’s crucial winner at Old Trafford in August 2025 will forever go down as the opening goal of Arsenal’s first title-winning campaign in over two decades. His only real knock is his lack of dependability due to his infuriating injury record, which I really do hope improves in the next couple of seasons. A great player who offers us so much when he’s on the field. He just has to be on the field more often.
Piero Hincapie – 7.5
Piero quickly became a fan favourite this season due to his aggressive, fierce and committed defensive style of play. Always gives 100% effort, never pulls out of a challenge and can always be relied upon. ‘That’ moment against Burnley created a generational meme which will be used on social media for many more years to come. He will soon become a permanent transfer and has earned his inclusion in what is the deepest and most talented squad that Arsenal have ever assembled.
Cristhian Mosquera – 7.5
Cristhian proved that he was the real deal the moment that he came on for Saliba after his first-half injury at Anfield last year. Cool, calm, composed, intelligent, fearless. The 21-year-old hardly puts a foot wrong. I don’t think you could’ve created a young defender more primed to be the prodigal back-up to Gabriel and Saliba. To be honest, before he brought down Kvaratskhelia in the UCL final to give our opponents the penalty that got them back in the game, I’m convinced that he was going to be named Man of the Match. Call me deluded, but I still don’t think PSG would’ve scored without that spot-kick. Maybe I’m wrong. It still hurts to think about. Either way, Arsenal have one of the most talented young defenders in the world on their books.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 6.5
After a breakout 2024/25 campaign, I think it’s fair to say that the Arsenal fanbase expected to see a lot more of Myles Lewis-Skelly than they did this season. At times, it seemed like the youngster, for whatever reason, was frozen out of the first XI. Hincapie’s reliability and Calafiori’s level of performance when he was fit meant that MLS didn’t see many minutes at left-back at all, and when he did, he was shaky. However, a testament to his determination and mindset, the youngster forced his way back into the starting XI with a string of excellent midfield performances towards the end of the season which saw him start next to Rice in midfield in the Champions League semi-finals and final. He’s likely to see a lot more minutes in 2026/27.
Declan Rice – 9.5
Mine and the Arsenal fanbase’s undeniable Player of The Season. What can you say about Declan Rice? The Englishman brings leadership, work-rate, muscle and a level of class and consistency that the Arsenal midfield hasn’t seen since the Patrick Vieira days. His reminder that ‘It’s not done’ to his teammates after the defeat at The Etihad which saw the title being mathematically taken out of Arsenal’s hands for the first time in the run-in will go down in Arsenal history. He is, without a doubt, the best set-piece taker in Europe, and has established himself as one of the best and most well-rounded midfielders in the world. The captain without the armband. He somehow makes the £105M fee that the club paid for him look like a steal. What a player.
Martin Zubimendi – 7.5
Zubi became the first outfield player in history to play in every game of his debut Premier League season and win the league. That’s an unbelievable achievement, and isn’t some sort of coincidence. He started the campaign on fire and scored one of our goals of the season with his beautiful volley against Nottingham Forest. Unfortunately, he tailed off slightly towards the end of the campaign which saw Lewis-Skelly take his position in midfield from him. He also had a couple of shaky moments which saw us give away cheap goals to our opponents, like Richarlison and Mbeumo’s strikes against us at The Emirates. Overall though, the Spaniard had a great first season in North London.
Martin Ødegaard – 7
Despite captaining us to our first league title in 22 years, it’s hard to give the skipper more than a 7 for the season. Odegaard started just 16 of our 38 Premier League games after a majorly injury-plagued campaign. His best moment on the pitch was by far his assist for Trossard’s winner away to West Ham, which many Arsenal fans believe was the moment we put one hand on the Premier League trophy.
Eberechi Eze – 8.5
We don’t win the league this season without Eberechi Eze. And that statement is made all the sweeter knowing that we nabbed him at the last minute from rivals Spurs, who celebrated finished 17th almost as much as we celebrated finishing 1st. His important winner at home to his former side Palace, his crucial last-minute assist for Martinelli vs City, his 5 goals in 2 games vs Tottenham, his stunning winner in the run-in vs Newcastle, his UCL goal of the season contender vs Leverkusen. It was a campaign to remember for our number 10 who came home and helped his boyhood side win the league (although we’ll try and forget that penalty in Budapest!).
Christian Norgaard – 6
The former Brentford skipper started just 6 games across all competitions in his debut season in red & white, but was always dependable enough when given the chance to play. Why Arteta didn’t use him more when other players were clearly struggling with fitness remains up for debate.
Mikel Merino – 7.5
Unfortunately for Mikel, his campaign was cut short and he missed the second-half of the season with a right-foot stress fracture in January which required surgery. The Spaniard is undoubtedly one of Arsenal’s most composed players and best finishers. His header away to his former side Newcastle was a massive goal which got us back in a psychologically crucial game that we went on to win, which despite being all the way back in September, was still a key moment in the title race. He is a valuable member of Arteta’s squad.
Bukayo Saka – 7.5
The 2025/26 season was probably Saka’s worst in an Arsenal shirt since he became our starting right-winger. However, that doesn’t mean that it was a bad season whatsoever. The Starboy has set the bar so high, that when he’s not at his scintillating best week-in, week-out, it feels slightly disappointing. It was his first season experiencing several different injuries which saw the 24-year-old miss around 70 days in total, which didn’t help with his rhythm or consistency. His 45-minute showing vs Fulham during the run-in was probably his best performance of the season, helping us secure the win by half-time with a great goal and dazzling assist before being subbed at the interval. His key assist for Havertz’s winner vs Burnley saw him become the second-youngest player in Premier League history (behind Wayne Rooney) to hit 50 goals and 50 assists. He is the face of the club, and will be for many more years to come.
Viktor Gyokeres – 8
While he may not be the most aesthetically pleasing player to watch, Gyokeres’ ruthlessness and no-nonsense style gave us something that we’ve lacked for years at the top of the pitch. At the end of the day, his 14 Premier League goals, including that brilliant brace at The Tottenham Hotspur stadium, helped to deliver us our first league title in over two decades. He deserves massive credit for the part he played in this season’s success and ends the campaign on 21 goals across all competitions, which is impressive, especially considering it was his first season in North London.
Kai Havertz – 7
Again, due to the injury-plagued nature of his campaign, it’s hard to give Kai anything more than a 7. He started just 5 of Arsenal’s 38 Premier League games after his injury on the opening day at Old Trafford kept him out for the majority of the campaign. However, his stoppage time winner at Sporting, his spot-kick against his former side Leverkusen and most importantly, his winner at home to Burnley to secure us a massive win just days before City went on to drop points vs Bournemouth to hand us the title, were all very big moments during the business end of the season.
Gabriel Martinelli – 6
Scoring just once in 30 Premier League appearances isn’t a good enough return for a player who, I think it’s fair to say, we all thought would’ve reached a higher level for us by now. Having said that, his injury-time equaliser at home to City was massive for us psychologically, and he performed admirably in the Champions League, where he scored an impressive 6 goals on route to the final. If that was your last season in North London, thanks for your service to the club, Gabi.
Noni Madueke – 5
At times, Madueke filled in for Saka adequately through his injury troubles, but overall, the end product just isn’t anywhere near good enough. The Madueke that we signed is the same Madueke that we saw at Chelsea. He struggles to contribute direct goal involvements and never seems truly in control of the ball. He’s too erratic, his decision-making is poor and he’s not potent enough in the final third. You can call me harsh, but it’s a signing I will never understand.
Leandro Trossard – 7
Trossard started the season well, then had a major dip where he couldn’t buy a goal, and the came alive again in the business end of the season. His winner vs West Ham will go down in Arsenal history. He’s Mr. Clutch for a reason. When other players try and take 100 touches or play a safe pass sideways or backwards, Trossard will take a strike at goal. That’s exactly what we needed at The London Stadium, and the Belgian delivered when it looked like the title was slipping way. Arsenal cult hero.
Gabriel Jesus – 5.5
Unfortunately for Gabriel Jesus, he just can’t stay fit anymore. For a player who is turning 30 in a matter of months and is at the top of the wage bill, it’s time to part ways. His UCL brace at The San Siro was by far his best moment of the season. It was also fitting that he scored in our final league game of the season at Selhurst Park where we lifted the title, the same stadium that he made his debut for the club at in 2022, which was the start of us transitioning into proper contenders. A beautiful full circle moment as his story in North London comes to an end.
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