My Arsenal 2025/26 End Of Season Awards

Now that the dust has settled on the rollercoaster season we've just had, I feel it's time to reflect on it all and hand out some unofficial awards to recognise what these players have achieved. I've made up my own set of awards so excuse the obscurity but I felt it'd make things a little more interesting. Here goes... 

Signing of the season - Martin Zubimendi

Having tailed off at the end of the season there's been a lot of recency bias regarding Zubimendi's season and its importance to us. To do so conveniently ignores the fact he made 57 appearances - a record for any player in their debut season at Arsenal. In fact, back in February, Arteta was quoted after the Palace 1-0 victory suggesting that opposition forward Mateta was tasked marking Arsenal's "best player", in reference to Zubimendi. While it is true that his influence severely waned when it came to crunch time, the work he put in for us to reach that point is undeniable for me and should be recognised. There's plenty more to come from him, make no mistake about it.

Surprise of the season - David Raya

Perhaps not what people would expect from this award given that he already came into the season as number 1 and one of the pillars of the squad; however, I don't believe that even his biggest fans could've expected what he's delivered this season. Consistently one of our top performers throughout and stepped up massively during the biggest moments - none more important than his last ditch save vs Fernandes in the West Ham game - genuinely title saving. That said, his best work for me actually came in the Champions League. He managed an 87.8% save percentage and 5.3 xG prevented, representing a >100% overperformance (which is obscene, genuinely), in addition to very impressively saving one of the 5 penalties he faced in the final. In March, he was asked by Henry, "Champions League or Premier League?", to which he replied, "Both." He then did absolutely everything in his power to deliver on that promise, falling short through no fault of his own. He's best goalkeeper in the world, in my opinion.

Moment of the season - Max Dowman vs Everton

Forget moment of the season, this is arguably the most unfiltered joy I've ever experienced as an Arsenal fan, being lucky enough to witness it live in the Emirates. Despite already being 1-0 up at this point thanks to an unjustly forgotten goal from Gyökeres, the atmosphere was as tense as I've ever felt it in the stadium. We were going through a rough patch at the time and that nervous energy came to a head on that day. For all that to unwind in a way that felt like time stood still was special. And for the kid who delivered in that moment to be the Premier League's youngest ever scorer was a script that seems too good to be true. I'm not ashamed to admit that it brought a tear to my eye and it really felt like the moment that will represent the start of an exciting career for him. We've had plenty of special moments this season but this for me is the clear winner.

Goal of the season - Eze vs Leverkusen

I don't need to say too much about this one, the goal speaks for itself. Anyone who has played football before knows how it feels when you get *that* connection and as soon as the ball left his foot everyone knew it was going in. Considering the way the game was unfolding as well, Eze breaking the deadlock like this was hugely important to avoid the game becoming nervy.

He's a magnificent footballer capable of magic moments and I hope we can see him produce those more consistently next season. Not many players in this squad can turn games on their head the way he does.

Game of the season - Arsenal vs Man City

I know I'm making a habit of these unorthodox choices but hear me out on this one... Although we lost 2-1 on the day and allowed City more than a foot back into the title race, we reminded ourselves who we were this game. All the build-up beforehand seemed to place fear into these players and the reality was that we were the better team. With everyone expecting us to park the bus, we went toe-to-toe with City and deserved at least a point away at The Etihad, which is no small thing.

Even our biggest critics on social media were surprised at the performance we put in and the players themselves seemed massively buoyed by the experience. With that hump out the way, there was a clear path to the title if we did our job and City dropped anything (or didn't match our GD). Despite what Gary Neville claimed, Rice saying "it's not done" was exactly what the team needed to hear. We went on to win 5 out of the final 5 without conceding a goal until the final day when the title was done. It felt like a huge mentality shift from the players and a big reason they finally delivered the title they've long deserved. 

Performance of the season - Eze vs Spurs (A)

I've alluded to this already but when Eze is on it, he's on it. This was one of those games where he was in flow state and showed exactly why we spent the money we did on him. Three magnificent goals to mark an absolute drubbing and make him the first hattrick scorer against those lot since Alan Sunderland in 1978.

Admittedly we've had harder games this season but there's something about thrashing your rivals like this that positively impacts the mood around the whole club (evidenced by us beating Bayern 3-1 later in the week). Considering he was so close to signing for Spurs, for him to then score 5 in 2 and average a 9.3 rating against them is a pretty sweet feeling.

Defensive player of the season - Gabriel Magalhães

I often speak about Saliba deserving his flowers, and he really does, but I can't ignore what I see when I watch Gabriel week in, week out. Forget his goal contributions for a moment, when our backs are against the wall there is nobody in world football I trust more than him. In January, I pointed out in a tweet just how effective he was when it came to blocking shots (and again in May).

Time and time again he makes last ditch interventions that won't always be the loudest on highlight reels, but save us so many points in crucial moments. We saw similar in the semis against Simeone and the same in the final against Kvaratskhelia where he was my MOTM. It breaks my heart that he couldn't convert his penalty in the end after being one of the most important pieces for the entirety of this journey we've been on since 2020. He's easily one of the best in the world and we're very lucky to have him. We're witnessing an all-time Premier League defensive partnership with how he and Saliba complement each other.

Attacking player of the season - Leandro Trossard

Could've easily gone as my surprise of the season but I'm more than happy to give him this award regardless. The headline shows that he returned 18 G/A in 50 appearances (32 90's); however, it's his on-ball work this season that has gone beyond previous. With a front 3 of Trossard - Gyökeres - Saka we won 92% of our PL games compared to a measly 52% without (Source: SamBlitz on X).

Particularly with Calafiori by his side, his ability to tuck into midfield centrally and use his impressive passing range caused defences significant problems. This may well have been his final season in an Arsenal shirt but he's more than proven that pay rise back in August worthwhile. If he does go we'll miss him, his skillset isn't easy to replace.

Player of the season - Declan Rice

Last but not least my player of the season, Declan Rice. For me the most impactful player in the Premier League and a crucial reason we finally got over the line. Every single game he ends the match as one of our strongest performers and he turns it up a notch when the game needs it. The guy was running on fumes by the end of the season and still stood tall as the best in the team.

Shoutout Raya, Gabriel, and Saliba who each deserve their plaudits for the team delivering success but the most important piece of the puzzle has always been Rice for me. 14 G/A in 55 games while bossing the game from one box to another. When Zubimendi began to stutter he moved a little deeper and took on even greater responsibility without flinching. He's one of the best in the world and will go down as a Premier League legend. We're extremely lucky to have him... And we got him half price.