Premier League 2025/26 Awards: Team of the Season, Best Player, Biggest Flops & More | OneFootball

From Arsenal’s title triumph to West Ham United’s relegation, the 2025/26 Premier League season offered plenty of talking points across all ends of the table.

Read on for our take on the standout performers.

Team of the Season

(4-2-3-1): Raya; Nunes, Saliba, Gabriel, O’Reilly; Rice, Xhaka; Semenyo, Fernandes, Kroupi; Haaland.

Player of the Season

With Arsenal winning the title, Declan Rice is the first player that springs to mind, considering his consistency and immense contribution to the Gunners’ long-awaited success.

However, it’s impossible to overlook Bruno Fernandes’ numbers.

The 31-year-old’s unparalleled playmaking ability has made Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne seem like mere footnotes, helping Manchester United thrive in the face of adversity.

Fernandes put the team on his shoulders in the second half of the season and carried the Red Devils over the finish line with an eye-catching 21 assists, setting a new Premier League record.

Rice was one of the architects of Arsenal’s title, but what the Portuguese superstar did throughout the campaign was unmatched.

Young Player of the Year

Nico O’Reilly is a natural choice, especially after his League Cup heroics at Wembley Stadium, yet Bournemouth may have unearthed a gem in a historic season for the club.

Eli Junior Kroupi took the Premier League by storm in his first full season, establishing himself as one of the most exciting prospects in European football, let alone England.

Kroupi’s meteoric rise under Andoni Iraola has transformed him into one of the most sought-after players in Europe, with Bournemouth expected to make a killing from his inevitable sale.

Numerous top clubs have already set their sights on the 19-year-old, who scored 13 goals in 33 league appearances in his debut Premier League campaign.

Signing of the Season

While the debate on this matter is likely to rage on, it’s hard to escape the supposition that Rayan Cherki rendered himself as the most impactful signing in the 2025/26 season.

One of the most entertaining players to watch in recent memory occasionally left Pep Guardiola scratching his head, but his brilliance more than compensated for those shortcomings.

Cherki has swiftly become one of the cornerstones of Man City’s frontline, soaking up the limelight as one of the most influential forwards at the Etihad Stadium.

Don’t let his tally of four goals and 12 assists confuse you – the Frenchman was the creative heartbeat of Guardiola’s side, filling the gap left by De Bruyne’s departure with remarkable ease.

Most Improved Player

Morgan Gibbs-White had long been flirting with a superstar status, but it feels like he reached his full potential this term, despite Nottingham Forest’s lacklustre campaign.

The 26-year-old doubled his 2024/25 haul, netting 15 goals in 37 matches while adding four assists to help the Tricky Trees avoid relegation.

Forest’s decision to turn down Tottenham Hotspur’s mega-money offer last summer paid off in a big way, as Gibbs-White saved them from the drop in his best-ever season.

Manager of the Year

Arsenal’s triumph makes Arteta a front-runner. However, Andoni Iraola led Bournemouth to their first European qualification despite losing three starting defenders last summer.

As if selling Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Illia Zabarnyi wasn’t hard enough, they parted ways with Antonie Semenyo midway through the campaign.

Even that couldn’t stop the Spaniard from securing a sixth-place finish.

Overperfomers

While Bournemouth can easily fit this category, Brentford’s stunning season stole the spotlight.

Unfazed by Thomas Frank’s departure, the Bees made a genuine push for European qualification under Keith Andrews, although they couldn’t quite get there in the end.

Underachievers

Picking Tottenham over Newcastle United and West Ham is a no-brainer.

Spurs almost made the world’s most expensive stadium host second-tier matches. Even though they avoided that ignominy right at the death, it does little to mask what was a horrendous campaign.

Goal of the Season

Liverpool stalwart Dominik Szoboszlai has become a set-piece specialist, and his outrageous long-range free-kick against Arsenal was a piece of art.

Game of the Season

It has to be Man Utd’s 3-2 win at Arsenal in January.

The Red Devils had just bounced back from a dismal FA Cup exit with a derby win over Man City, but no one expected them to beat the leaders on their home turf.

However, Michael Carrick achieved the unthinkable, with Matheus Cunha’s superb winning goal inspiring United to their first Premier League victory at the Emirates Stadium since 2017.