The 2025-26 Premier League season ended with Arsenal winning their first league title in 22 years, and Opta Analyst’s Team of the Season reflected that dominance with four Arsenal players included in the final XI.
Goalkeeper David Raya, defenders William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães, and midfielder Declan Rice were all selected after Arsenal finished the campaign with the league’s best defensive record, conceding just 27 goals in 38 matches. According to Opta Analyst, the selections were based on players who “performed better than any other player in their respective position according to the data.”
Manchester City, despite finishing behind Arsenal, also had strong representation through Matheus Nunes, Rayan Cherki, and Erling Haaland. Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was included after breaking the Premier League single-season assist record with 21.
Opta Analyst Premier League Team of the Season 2025-26
Goalkeeper
- David Raya (Arsenal)
Defenders
- Matheus Nunes (Manchester City)
- William Saliba (Arsenal)
- Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
- Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth)
Midfielders
- Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)
- Declan Rice (Arsenal)
- Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)
Attacking Midfielders
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
- Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)
Striker
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Arsenal Players Dominate Opta Analyst Premier League Team of the Season
GettyMartin Odegaard of Arsenal lifts the Premier League trophy
Arsenal’s title-winning campaign was built around defensive consistency and midfield control.
Raya earned a place in goal after keeping 19 clean sheets, winning the Golden Glove award for a third straight season. Opta noted that the Spaniard equaled David Seaman’s club record for most clean sheets in a Premier League season.
Saliba and Gabriel were selected as the center-back pairing after helping Arsenal concede the fewest goals in the league. Opta highlighted that Arsenal kept 15 clean sheets in the 26 league matches the pair started together.
Gabriel also contributed offensively with three goals and four assists. Opta wrote that Arsenal’s set-piece dominance remained “one of the defining features of the Mikel Arteta era.”
Rice completed the Arsenal contingent in midfield after leading the club in league minutes among outfield players with 3,099. He also created 63 chances and recorded an expected assists total of 7.0.
Opta said Rice “remained just as essential for Mikel Arteta’s side with and without the ball.”
Bruno Fernandes and Erling Haaland Lead Premier League Attack
GettyManchester City forward Erling Haaland and Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes was selected after one of the most productive creative seasons in Premier League history.
The Manchester United captain finished the campaign with 21 assists, breaking the previous single-season Premier League record shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. Fernandes also created 136 chances, the second-highest total recorded since Opta began tracking the metric in 2003-04.
Opta wrote: “The Portuguese also topped the league rankings for open-play chances created (98) and expected assists (12.3).”
Manchester City striker Haaland led the line after winning another Golden Boot with 27 league goals. It marked the third time he finished as the Premier League’s top scorer.
Opta noted that Haaland became only the fifth player to win the Golden Boot at least three times, joining Thierry Henry, Mohamed Salah, Alan Shearer, and Harry Kane.
Cherki was included after contributing 12 assists in his debut Premier League season with Manchester City. According to Opta, only Fernandes created more chances per 90 minutes than any other player with at least 1,000 league minutes.
Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest Earn Recognition
Bournemouth left-back Adrien Truffert earned selection after helping the club qualify for European football for the first time in its history.
Opta highlighted that Truffert was “the only player to make 50+ overlapping runs in the Premier League” during the season. He also recorded 103 tackles and 48 interceptions, both league highs among full-backs.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson was another surprise inclusion after a statistically dominant season despite Forest finishing in the bottom half.
According to Opta, Anderson led all Premier League players in touches, duels won, possession regains, and fouls won. He also ranked second among midfielders for total distance covered during the campaign.
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai completed the midfield after scoring four direct free-kick goals and leading the Premier League in successful crosses with 69.
Matheus Nunes rounded out the defense after transitioning into a right-back role for Manchester City. Opta noted that 98% of his league minutes came at right-back, where he led all full-backs for carries and distance covered while carrying the ball.
The Opta Analyst Team of the Season was selected entirely through statistical performance data from the completed 2025-26 Premier League campaign.
Premier League 2025-26 Team of the Season Revealed With Arsenal Leading the Way