Declan Rice Wins Arsenal Player of the Season Again

Declan Rice has been at Arsenal long enough now for the novelty to wear off. It hasn’t. Not when he keeps bending seasons to his will like this.

For the second year running, the midfielder has been voted the club’s men’s Player of the Season, taking 44% of the supporters’ vote for 2025/26. In a campaign that ended a 22-year wait for the Premier League trophy in north London and carried Arsenal to only the second Champions League final in their history, the fans were clear about whose name sat at the centre of it all.

David Raya finished second in the poll, Gabriel third. Rice finished somewhere else entirely: in the company of club royalty.

Only six players in Arsenal’s history have ever retained this award. Rice now joins Liam Brady, Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard on that list. That is not just a roll call; it is a statement about where he already sits in the club’s modern story.

The engine of a title winner

Rice has become the heartbeat of Mikel Arteta’s side, the metronome and the battering ram rolled into one. Some weeks he anchored in front of the back four, snapping into tackles, hoovering up second balls, restarting attacks before opponents could breathe. On other days he stepped higher, operating almost as a No. 8, driving through lines and pinning teams back with his presence alone.

The numbers only confirm what the eye test has shouted for months.

• He created more chances than anyone else in the squad – 96 in all competitions.
• No teammate won the ball back more often than his 239 recoveries.
• No one put in more tackles than his 91.

When Arsenal needed control, he gave them structure. When they needed chaos in the right areas, he brought that too.

And he did it relentlessly. Across 55 appearances, Rice clocked 4,456 minutes, the most of any outfield player in the squad. For the third straight season as a Gunner, he passed the half-century mark for games played. Availability is a skill; Rice has turned it into a weapon.

Decisive in both boxes

This was not just a holding midfielder quietly knitting things together. Rice’s influence reached both penalty areas.

From set pieces he became a constant threat, his delivery and timing sharpening as the season wore on. He finished with nine assists in all competitions, a tally that underlined how often he found the right ball in the final third.

He added five goals of his own, including a brace in a pivotal win over Bournemouth in January – a result that felt, even then, like a hinge moment in the title race. On a day when nerves could have crept in, Rice simply took the game away.

Those contributions came layered on top of the unseen work: the pressing triggers, the covering runs, the calmness in tight spaces when Arsenal tried to play out under pressure. Every big team needs a reference point. Arsenal’s is wearing No 41.

From near miss to dominance

Rice’s arc at Arsenal has mirrored the team’s rise.

In his first season, 2023/24, he finished runner-up in the Player of the Season voting. The impact was obvious, but the major silverware stayed just out of reach. Since then he has claimed the club’s top individual honour in back-to-back years, while the team has taken the final step in the league and pushed deep into Europe.

The personal recognition has not stopped at club level either. Rice earned a place in the Champions League Team of the Season and found his name on the shortlist for both the Premier League and PFA Player of the Season awards. In a midfield era stacked with talent, he has forced his way into every conversation that matters.

And he is not done yet.

World stage calling

As Arsenal supporters toast another season in which Rice has been their standard-bearer, his focus shifts to the international stage. He is currently with England at the 2026 World Cup, carrying the form of a champion into a tournament that will define careers.

At club level, he has already etched his name alongside legends. The next question is simple: how much higher can he push the ceiling for both Arsenal and England from here?