On what being the best player in the league means and why certain Gunners deserve that title more than a Manchester United player.
It probably won’t surprise you to learn this, but I was a theatre kid in a former life. Performing in front of others was always one of my favorite outlets growing up, even before I fell in love with football. In second grade, we were asked to give presentations on our heroes and dress up as them when doing so; I chose Jim Carrey and quotedLiar LiarandThe Maskfor ten minutes. In fourth grade, I talked my teacher into letting me do a weekly five-minute talk show in which I’d interview classmates and talk about how much I love cheeseburgers. And in seventh grade, I leaped at the opportunity to take “Intro to Theatre” as an elective.
Four years later I found myself starring as the lead role in The Scottish Play, also known asThe Tragedy of Macbeth. I’d kicked a chair as I delivered a monologue in auditions and suddenly found myself playing the main man. It was my big break. I had gone from appearing as part of ensembles to it being my character portrayed on show posters and used to sell tickets.
At least, that’s what I thought. But I’ll never forget the morning I realized that assumption was incorrect. I was slumped over on my desk in my first class of the day, trying to take in a few last morsels of sleep after being up far too late the night before doing something silly. It was the start of hell week, just a few days out from opening night. I remember the morning announcements starting and a fellow student reading off her headlines. I didn’t pay much attention until she mentionedMacbeth.
“And lastly, don’t forget,” the morning announcer stated, her voice crackling over the PA system, “The school’s production ofMacbeth premieres this Thursday night! Come witness the story of an ambitious queen as she manipulates her husband toward power and the throne!”
I sat up so fast I almost tipped my chair over. Where was the mention of Macbeth? Why the omission of the literal star of the show? How did the powers that be decide that was the story of the play?
Don’t get me wrong, the woman who played my wife in the show was a phenomenal actress. She’s since gone on to work in that industry, and I’ve heard she’s been involved in some really cool projects. I’ve got a lot of time and respect for her. But in this moment, I was vexed. I was playing the guy the show was named for. Macbeth utters 5,303 words over the course of the play compared to his queen’s 1,901. He is who the story is primarily about. It felt like the world was going out of its way to overly praise someone who wasn’t the headliner in this particular instance.
I get that same feeling now watching so many come out of the woodwork to claim that Bruno Fernandes should be the PFA Player of the Year this season.
And look, let’s not lie — Fernandes has had a great campaign so far. He is the best chance creator in the Premier League by several country miles, as hilariously depicted by the graphic below:
With eight games left, the Portuguese midfielder only needs five assists to break the league’s single-season record currently held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. I found out watching an Adam Clery video on the subject that if you only counted Fernandes’ chances created since January 7, that number would still only be second to the Fernandes’ total number of assists in the 2025/26 season. And his expected assists stat is very much in line with this. Manchester United’s captain might the sole reason why they haven’t gone the way of Spurs this season. So don’t think I’m sitting here saying that Fernandes hasn’t had a phenomenal individual showing in the league this year.
However, I just don’t think that automatically means he’s been the best player in the league this season. He’s been the best creative player, that’s for sure. He is, as Adam Clery put it, “No player in this league is as far away from his peers as Bruno Fernandes is at chance creation.” But, well, that’s just one aspect of the game, isn’t it?
And at only seven goals and 16 assists in the league so far, Fernandes hasn’t really achieved an astronomical enough output to justify looking the other way regarding several aspects of his game and Manchester United’s season in order to award him PFA Player of the Year. Last season, Mohamed Salah won it after managing 29 goals and 18 assists just in the league. And he did so while winning the Premier League title, making the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, exiting in the Round of 16 of the Champions League, and progressing to the final of the Carabao Cup.
Phil Foden won the award after the 2023/24 season with a more relatable 19 goals and eight assists. But even then, he did so as part of a City side that won the league and reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League and the final of the FA Cup. They also went out in the first round of the Carabao Cup, but Foden was regardless the most impressive part of a successful campaign.
And that’s the point I’m getting at. Again, Fernandes has been great in the league. No one’s denying that, just breathe. And technically, as everyone keeps jumping to point out, the PFA Player of the Year award is focused on a single footballer’s individual performance in the league only.
But, well, is it really? Of the last 11 winners of the PFA Players’ Player of the Season, seven finished first in the league the year they received the award. Only one finished lower than second, and that was Mohamed Salah after achieving an utterly ludicrous 32 goals and 11 assists in the league. The trend indicates that a player must preferably win a trophy or at the very least compete for the title in order to earn the award.
Additionally, the award seems to go quite often to players whose teams are competing on multiple fronts. Remember those previous 11 winners I mentioned earlier? In the seasons in which they won their respective awards, they averaged just over 48 total appearances in all competitions. Only three of the 11 played fewer than 48 games. If Fernandes plays every remaining match United have on their calendar before the end of the campaign, he will finish with 37 games in the 2025/26 season. In fact, no winner of the award has played on a team that went out in the first round of both domestic cups and didn’t play in European competition in the last 36 years (and probably more than that, I just stopped looking once I got past the 1989/90 season). The closest thing I could find was Riyad Mahrez in 2015/16, and he still won the league.
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At the time of writing, Fernandes is still several matches away from eclipsing the 3,000-minute mark. Eberechi Eze, who faced a spell of four games on the bench before of a seven-game stretch in which Mikel Arteta used him sparingly as a substitute, has more minutes under his belt. Enzo Fernández sits at 3,571 while Dominik Szoboszlai sports 3,758 minutes and Declan Rice has 3,372 minutes in his legs.
So, to be a little blunt about it, of course Fernandes is having a great season in the Premier League. He doesn’t have much else to do, does he? He and United aren’t playing their games in the English top flight sandwiched between domestic ups with a supersized side of demanding Champions League games. While Manchester City, Spurs, and Chelsea get humiliated in Paris and Madrid, Fernandes is on his couch with popcorn. He’s playing once a week, as fresh as can be against opponents that don’t typically set up in low blocks against United these days (as of the end of October, the Red Devils were facing a higher average defensive line than the likes of Wolves, Everton, Bournemouth, and Brentford).
To me, the sudden upwelling of passionate advocacy for the United man winning this year’s award is an attempt, consciously or subconsciously, to frame Fernandes as a righteous hero fighting the good fight against the scourge of hyper-tactical, low-scoring,boring football within the Premier League this season. And frankly, I can’t help but feel that arguing in favor of giving the PFA award to a guy whose club will play 40 total matches, who personally has as many minutes in European competition this season as I do, is something certain people would only engage in because Arsenal look like a good bet to win trophies this time around. Again, if Fernandes wins this year’s honor, it would be a first for a player in his situation.
Once more, with feeling: Bruno Fernandes has been a tremendous supporting character this season. If there was a curtain call for the Premier League, he’d deserve to go up and take a bow in front of the house on his own. But should Arsenal seal the league title in the next two months, the player whose name should be up in lights when we look back on the 2025/26 season can only come from one team. They could only have worn a cannon on their chest.
Regarding who exactly it should be, I think there are three distinct options: Declan Rice, William Saliba, and Gabriel. I also feel an honorable mention should go to David Raya, who has been the best keeper in the league this season and is currently strolling to his third successive Premier League Golden Glove. But it is the peak of gaslighting to attempt to argue that those three outfield players don’t fit the profile of a standard candidate for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year Award.
First, there’s Gabriel. For a team that are currently still on for the quadruple, the Brazilian has been one of the club’s standout performers this season. The center back has made a point of being one of the most dominant defenders in the Premier League; according to FotMob, he ranks in the 90th percentile for aerial duels at his position. He has contributed to the second-most clean sheets (13) in the English top flight during the 2025/26 campaign, with only Raya having more individually. And he puts his body on the line to defend his goal — currently, Gabriel has 24 blocks to his name in the league, over twice as many as the next best Arsenal player in that category.
But what really sets Gabriel apart from his peers is his goalscoring prowess from set pieces. In the league the Arsenal man sports seven goal contributions, with six coming from dead ball situations. Whether he’s heading a crossed ball across goal for a teammate to finish or crashing in the decisive strike himself, Gabriel has been an absolute menace at set pieces the way no other player has been this season. The way Kyle Walker spoke about him in a recent interview exuded sheer terror, and I don’t blame him. The Brazilian is an absolute warrior.
And something else I think is massively underrated about Gabriel is his response to difficult situations. In the two games this season in which he’s made a mistake leading to a goal, Arsenal’s no. 6 has redeemed himself in the best way: by scoring. At Newcastle, he went down in the box too easily and allowed Nick Woltemade to score. Gabriel then went on to head in the match winner himself. And at Bournemouth, the Brazilian handed Evanilson the opening goal, only to thump in an equalizer not long after. To me, that shows a true winning mentality.
Then there’s Saliba. Frankly, I think he’s the least likely of the trio I named to win it. Unless he’s celebrating a teammate’s goal, you almost never notice him. He goes about his work quietly, keeping even the league’s best forwards at bay and tidying up at the back. The numbers don’t lie, however — he is tied for the third-most clan sheets in the league, contributing personally to 11.
The fact remains that we are looking at a generational center back, one with the talent to be mentioned with the all-time greats. At only 24 years old he is, in my opinion, already the best center back in the league. This season, he’s been the full package.
Not only has he continued to be a stifling defender and a cornerstone of the current league leaders’ backline, but this season Saliba has shown off a new dimension of his game. The Frenchman has effectively taken on the role of orchestrating Arsenal’s buildup. On a per-90 basis, Saliba averages the most and highest percentage of successful passes in the squad. He also averages the highest distance of carries and progressive carries in the team.
What this has resulted in is the center back not only helping elevate Arsenal’s back line to be one of the most press-resistant in football, but also forcing the issue in the middle and final thirds. This season Saliba has exploited his silkiness on the ball by typically carrying into midfield, and occasionally to the flank or the top of the opposing penalty area, drawing attention from markers and opening up passing lanes. Saliba’s willingness to serve as a string puller in buildup has made him one of the most unique threats that Arsenal have this season. That sky-high technical quality on top of elite athleticism and defensive execution would make him a deserved winner of the PFA award.
But the player who, for good reason, has garnered the most traction of the three is Declan Rice. In his third season at Arsenal, Rice has really developed into a true leader in the side. Arteta has previously referred to him as a “lighthouse” player. And I do think that even on a team that sits top of the Premier League and is the bookies’ favorite in all four competitions, the Englishman has led the way for his club. He has been the best all-around player in the league this season.
Defensively, Rice has been excellent. In the Premier League, he’s second on the roster in tackles, second in interceptions, first by some distance in possessions won, second in blocks, and third in ground duels won. This is on a team that have conceded the fewest goals in the league (22 in 30 games), kept a clean sheet in half their Premier League games so far and 25 total matches this season, and are miles ahead of the rest of the English top flight in terms of expected goals against. In a side that look set to finish as one of the historically great defenses in English football, Rice is one of the biggest contributors to that status.
And he’s also been a difference maker on the ball. Rice leads the team in attempted passes and sits second only to Saliba for successful ones. He boasts the most assists in the team (both in the league and in all competitions), has created the most chances in the side, and also is first for expected assists among Arsenal players. In the image below from the Adam Clery Football Channel, Rice is one of the best chance creators in the league this season (that’s right, even in open play!!), even if it’s still in the next ballpark over from Fernandes’ output. He currently has racked up 15 goal contributions in all competitions, level with Eze and Leandro Trossard and only three behind Arsenal’s leader in that regard, Viktor Gyökeres.
Additionally, Rice has carried the ball almost 2,000 meters further than any other Arsenal player. To give you an idea of how crazy that number is, Bukayo Saka is second in that category with 4,456.5. In terms of progressive carries, Rice sports 3,122.7 meters while Saka, second in this category too, has 2,086.8 to his name. The Englishman is the engine of the team, going on lung-bursting runs up the pitch as well as goal-saving sprints back the other way. He is emptying the tank every week for this Arsenal team.
Just as he is defensively, Rice is one of the biggest contributors in an attacking sense for a team that was the first English side to achieve 100 goals in all competitions this season, that has currently scored the most goals in the Premier League, that sports a goal difference which dwarfs that of 18 other teams in the English top flight. And Rice, as are Gabriel and Saliba, is doing this while competing in all four competitions and playing multiple games a week well into March. He’s doing this while admitting he’s “shattered” after Arsenal progressed to the Champions League quarterfinals.
It’s one thing to rack up crazy chance creation numbers in the Premier League while only having a single competition to worry about. It’s another thing to essentially be great at almost every facet of the game while chasing the mythical quadruple and looking like the best bet in years of achieving it, and still being a catalyst for a much better team than the one Bruno Fernandes is on.That is what makes a player the best in their league.That is greatness.
And for me, that’s what this award is about. It’s not about who’s going to have a 99-rated trait in the next release ofEA FC, it’s about who has achieved greatness in a particular season. Accolades like the PFA Players’ Player of the Year are supposed to indicate glory, not a fun little outlier status.
Fernandes, for the last time, has been phenomenal at creating chances this year. And he’s scored some good goals. But that’s about it. He will not have achieved anything with that output the way almost every PFA Player of the Year has previously. And his output numbers are not insane enough to overshadow the historically great season-long performances Rice, Gabriel, and Saliba have put in this season. They’re top of the Premier League. They are playing in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. They have progressed to the quarterfinals of the Champions League and FA Cup, and are strong favorites to make the semifinals of those tournaments. I’m sorry, but you just can’t handwave away how remarkable that is. If we are being objective, if we are being honest with ourselves, Fernandes’ season pales in comparison to that unless he somehow achieves a final goal and assist tally similar to Mohamed Salah’s in 2024/25 or 2017/18. He does not stand to achieve greatness the way the Arsenal trio currently do.
However, at the end of the day it’s not that big of a deal (says the guy who has now written over 3,000 words on the subject). I just want to see players get their flowers for achieving something that would truly stand the test of time. And if Arsenal somehow go trophyless, consider all this null and void. But if you told me the price for the Gunners winning one, two, or even four trophies would be having to watch Bruno Fernandes be crowned “the best player in the Premier League” that season, fair enough. Because if Rice, Gabriel, Saliba, and all the other Arsenal players do go on to cap off the 2025/26 season successfully, they’ll be cast in bronze in front of the Emirates and thrust into conversations that will be uncomfortable for everyone but the club and its fans. And then, one way or another, they’ll get the praise and accolades they all deserve.
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