Rice is #1 again: Arsenal named the best player of the season

The press service of Arsenal announced the results of the traditional voting for the best football player of the season. Central midfielder Declan Rice won for the second time in a row. The 27-year-old Englishman received 44% of the fan vote, well ahead of his teammates. Goalkeeper David Raya took second place, and defender Gabriel rounded out the top three. Did what he set out to do. Your 2025/26 Player of the Season, Declan Rice 🏅 pic.twitter.com/WS1Jgi72Ky — Arsenal (@Arsenal) June 19, 2026 The London club noted Rice's key role in Arsenal's championship season in the English Premier League. It was he who spent the most minutes among all players of the team in all tournaments, and also became the leader in the number of created moments, won duels for possession of the ball and made tackles. In 55 matches last season, Declan scored 5 goals and provided 11 assists. For Rice, this award was the second in a row. As a result, he joined an elite list of footballers who won Arsenal's Player of the Season two years in a row. Liam Brady, Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Bukayo Saka and Martin Edegaard previously achieved this feat. It will be recalled that Declan Rice has been playing for Arsenal since the summer of 2023 after transferring from West Ham and became one of the leaders of Mikel Arteta's team.