Bruno Fernandes broke the assist record in Arsenal's title-winning season.
With 21 assists, the Manchester United captain officially surpassed legends to lead the list of the 10 best players in the Premier League for the 2025/26 season.
The 2025/26 Premier League season has officially concluded with Arsenal reigning supreme. While West Ham, Wolves, and Burnley bid farewell to the league, this year witnessed some historic individual performances, most notably the explosive form of Bruno Fernandes and the Gunners' impenetrable defense.
1. Bruno Fernandes - The new king of assists.
Leading the list compiled by Goal is Bruno Fernandes. Despite being instructed by manager Ruben Amorim to play in a deeper role in the early stages, the Manchester United captain set an unprecedented milestone. With 21 assists, Fernandes officially broke the Premier League single-season record, surpassing two legends, Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
2. Declan Rice and the backbone of the champion
Right behind him is Declan Rice, a key player in Arsenal's title-winning campaign. Rice is considered by experts to be the most complete player in the world today thanks to his exceptional control and interception abilities. This form makes him a strong contender for the Ballon d'Or at the end of the year.
His teammate, center-back Gabriel Magalhaes (3rd place), is a symbol of solidity with 17 clean sheets. Not only defensively, Gabriel also contributed 3 goals and 4 assists. Meanwhile, goalkeeper David Raya (5th place) won the Golden Glove for the third consecutive time, with a crucial save against West Ham in May that directly led Arsenal to the championship.
3. Erling Haaland, the goal-scoring machine, and the new trends.
Despite a period of poor form, Erling Haaland still finished in 4th place with 27 goals, winning his 3rd Golden Boot in 4 years. Notably, the Norwegian striker significantly improved his link-up play, contributing an additional 8 assists.
Manchester City also contributed several other impressive names such as Nico O'Reilly (9th place) - Young Player of the Year with 5 goals from a defender, or Rayan Cherki (7th place) and Antoine Semenyo (8th place). Semenyo caused a sensation when he moved from Bournemouth to Man City for £62.5 million and immediately shone with 5 goals in his first 7 games.
4. Unexpected individuals
Igor Thiago (6th place) of Brentford is one of the biggest revelations this season. Replacing Ivan Toney, Thiago scored 22 goals, a performance that earned him a place in the Brazilian squad for the World Cup. Finally, there's Morgan Gibbs-White (10th place), who scored 9 goals in his last 10 games to directly help Nottingham Forest avoid relegation under Vitor Pereira.
