Five Arsenal PFA selections have recognised the champions’ defensive strength, but the make-up of the side also exposes the one area Mikel Arteta must improve during the title defence.
David Raya, Jurriën Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Declan Rice were all selected by their fellow professionals after Arsenal won the Premier League.
No club supplied more players. However, four of Arsenal’s representatives operate in defence or goal, while Rice provides the protection and control immediately ahead of them.
Not one Arsenal attacker made the side. That is not an injustice requiring manufactured outrage. It is a useful verdict on how Arteta’s team became champions and where their next development must come.
The PFA Premier League Team of the Year 🏆
Voted for by the players. pic.twitter.com/8i4WNR5a8y
— PFA (@PFA) August 25, 2026
Arsenal PFA selections reward the title-winning foundation
The official PFA Premier League Team of the Year places Raya behind a defence containing Timber, Saliba and Gabriel. Rice then takes one of the midfield positions.
As ReadArsenal reported after the team was announced, Arsenal’s five representatives were the highest total in the division. Manchester City supplied four, with Bruno Fernandes and Igor Thiago completing the XI.
The distribution reflects Arsenal’s strongest title-winning quality. Arteta built a structure which restricted opponents before individual brilliance was required to rescue matches.
Arsenal conceded only 27 league goals and kept 19 clean sheets. The club’s official season review also records the lowest expected goals against, fewest big chances allowed and fewest shots faced in the Premier League.
Those figures explain why Raya, Timber, Saliba and Gabriel impressed opponents. Arsenal did not merely defend their penalty area successfully. They controlled territory and protected possession while restricting the number of dangerous situations Raya had to solve.
Rice connected that defensive security with the rest of the team. He was also one of three Arsenal players on the six-man shortlist for the main award, alongside Gabriel and Raya.
Fernandes eventually won, but the absence of an Arsenal attacker from the PFA Player of the Year shortlist repeated the pattern seen in the best XI.
Arsenal’s scoring numbers reveal a collective attack
Arsenal were not low-scoring champions. They finished with 71 league goals, only six fewer than Manchester City, according to the club’s comparison with previous title-winning teams.
Arteta’s team found several different routes to goal. Midfielders arrived inside the penalty area, while defenders and Arsenal’s set-piece routines also made major contributions.
However, 25 of their goals came from non-penalty set pieces. Arsenal scored a Premier League-record 19 times from corners alone.
Such efficiency deserves credit. Set pieces are coached situations, not fortunate accidents. They helped Arsenal turn close matches into victories and provided an advantage opponents could not consistently neutralise.
The reliance also provides context for the PFA selections. Arsenal’s attacking production was spread throughout the squad rather than driven by one outstanding league campaign from a forward.
Viktor Gyökeres finished as Arsenal’s leading league scorer with 14 goals. The final Golden Boot standings placed him behind all three forwards selected by the PFA.
Erling Haaland scored 27, Thiago reached 22 and Antoine Semenyo finished with 17. The players therefore chose the division’s three highest-scoring forwards.
Why the attacking omission still concerns Arsenal
Winning the league without a forward in the PFA side demonstrates Arsenal’s collective strength. It also establishes a clear route for improvement.
Arteta cannot assume another 19 clean sheets or another record return from corners. Opponents will spend the summer studying Arsenal’s routines, while injuries can quickly disturb even the strongest defensive unit.
An attacker capable of producing an elite individual campaign would reduce the demand for near-perfect control. Arsenal occasionally needed repeated pressure or a set play to break opponents last season. A more decisive open-play threat could shorten those matches.
This is not solely a centre-forward question. Gyökeres gave Arsenal a useful focal point and finished as the club’s leading scorer, while Kai Havertz offers different movement between midfield and attack.
The larger issue concerns the number of players capable of carrying the scoring burden when Bukayo Saka is unavailable or closely marked. Arsenal won through their collective structure and squad depth. Their next step is adding greater individual certainty to that platform.
Coventry victory offers early Arsenal answer
The opening 3-0 victory over Coventry City provided an encouraging response.
Havertz, Saka and Martin Ødegaard all scored, while Christos Tzolis repeatedly threatened from the left. The ReadArsenal match report highlighted how the new winger gave Arteta a more balanced route into the final third.
Tzolis has started quickly after also creating two goals against Manchester City in the Community Shield. His willingness to isolate and attack a defender could make Arsenal less dependent on Saka’s work from the opposite flank.
Havertz’s form has also created genuine competition with Gyökeres. That battle gives Arteta alternatives rather than forcing one striker to carry every match.
One convincing win against newly promoted opposition cannot settle the wider question. It does, however, suggest Arsenal already possess more varied attacking options than the PFA selections from last season indicate.
Martinelli agreement sharpens Arsenal transfer decision
Gabriel Martinelli’s proposed departure could alter that optimism.
Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle worth approximately £50million with Al Hilal, although the winger has not agreed personal terms.
His exit would follow Leandro Trossard’s move away from north London. Tzolis has replaced one left-sided option, but losing Martinelli would remove another experienced attacker.
Arsenal’s remaining transfer decisions must therefore be shaped by more than squad numbers. The PFA voting identifies the profile Arteta still lacks: an attacker capable of joining the league’s most productive individuals while operating within his demanding structure.
A new signing is not essential simply because no Arsenal forward made an awards team. Arsenal are already champions and began their defence with three goals.
Taken together, the five Arsenal PFA selections provide an external assessment from the players who faced them. Arsenal’s defensive unit was the division’s standard, Rice controlled matches and the attack succeeded collectively.
Turning that collective threat into elite individual output would make the champions harder to contain. It could also ensure next year’s PFA team recognises Arsenal at both ends of the pitch.
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