Declan Rice Wins Arsenal Player of the Season Again
For the second year running, Arsenal’s season has belonged to Declan Rice.
In a campaign that finally dragged the Premier League trophy back to north London after a 22-year wait and carried Arsenal all the way to a second-ever Champions League final, the midfielder has been recognised by the club’s supporters as their standout performer once more, taking 44% of the vote for the 2025/26 men’s Player of the Season award.
David Raya finished second in the poll, Gabriel took third. The podium tells its own story about Arsenal’s spine. Rice defines it.
Joining elite company
This is not just another club award for the cabinet. Rice has now entered a very select group in Arsenal history, becoming only the sixth player to win the accolade in back-to-back seasons. The roll call he joins is pure royalty: Liam Brady, Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard – and now Rice.
He arrived as a record signing and an England international. He has grown into something more: the reference point for Mikel Arteta’s side, the player around whom the tempo, the aggression and the authority of this title-winning team have been set.
His first season in red and white, 2023/24, ended with him as runner-up in the same vote. Since then, he has simply taken ownership of it.
The engine of a champion
Rice’s numbers from 2025/26 read like the job description for a complete modern midfielder.
He created more chances than any other Arsenal player – 96 in all competitions. He won possession back more often than anyone else – 239 times. He made more tackles than any teammate – 91. When the game needed control, he supplied it. When it needed chaos tamed, he put a foot on the ball and a shoulder into the duel.
No outfielder played more minutes for Arsenal this season. Across 55 appearances, Rice racked up 4,456 minutes, a staggering workload that underlines both his fitness and his importance. For the third straight year as a Gunner, he has been trusted to go beyond a half-century of games. Managers don’t do that with players they can live without.
And he did all this while being shuffled across the pitch. Rice spent spells shielding the back four, breaking up play and launching counters from deep. At other times he stepped higher, operating just behind the frontline, turning into an extra attacker when Arsenal squeezed opponents in their own half. Wherever the tactical plan placed him, the intensity stayed the same.
More than a destroyer
The numbers in the final third matter too, especially in a title race decided on fine margins.
Rice finished the season with nine assists in all competitions and five goals, including a brace in a key January win over Bournemouth that helped keep Arsenal’s momentum rolling through the winter. His threat from set pieces – both from deliveries and late runs onto second balls – became a recurring weapon in tight games.
Those contributions did not just pad out a stat sheet. They shifted matches, nudged scorelines, and kept Arsenal’s title push on track when pressure and expectation began to bite.
Recognition beyond north London
Such influence has not gone unnoticed outside the Emirates.
Rice earned a place in the Champions League Team of the Season, a nod from Europe that he is now operating at the very top tier of his position. He was also shortlisted for both the Premier League Player of the Season and the PFA Player of the Season awards, further confirmation that his impact has been felt across the division, not just within Arsenal’s walls.
The club prize, though, carries its own weight. It comes from the people who have watched him every week, home and away, through the tense finishes and the statement wins. They have seen the full picture: the leadership, the recovery runs, the late surges into the box, the constant demand for more from those around him.
From club talisman to national pillar
The story of Rice’s season is not finished yet. He is currently with England at the 2026 World Cup, carrying his club form onto the biggest international stage. After a year in which he has driven Arsenal to a title and a Champions League final, more honours may yet follow in national colours.
Back at Arsenal, the question now is not whether Declan Rice is their Player of the Season.
It is how far this team can go while their midfield heartbeat is still in his prime.
