Top 10 Players in the Premier League Right Now
The 2025/26 Premier League season delivered drama, record-breaking performances and a changing of the guard at the top of English football. Arsenal ended a 22-year wait for the title, finishing seven points clear of Manchester City, Erling Haaland claimed his third Golden Boot in four seasons, and Bruno Fernandes tore up the record books with the most assists ever recorded in a single Premier League campaign.
With the new season now just days away, here's our ranking of the ten players carrying the most form and momentum into 2026/27, built around how they finished last season.
10. Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest to Manchester City)
The surprise name on the list. Anderson's outstanding season for Forest earned him a £116m move to Manchester City, one of the biggest fees of the summer. The 23-year-old midfielder established himself as a genuine Premier League talent last season, and now faces the considerable task of helping fill the void left by Rodri's departure at his new club.
9. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Arsenal's homegrown star remains one of the most dangerous wingers in the league. Saka's dribbling, creativity and eye for goal make him a persistent problem for defenders, and despite ongoing fitness management, he's still central to Mikel Arteta's plans down the right flank.
8. Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)
Liverpool's sole representative in this top 10, Szoboszlai was a key creative force last season, finishing among the league's leaders for chances created behind only Bruno Fernandes. His tireless running, technical range and eye for goal made him a constant threat, and his near-ever-present availability underlined his importance to Liverpool's midfield.
7. Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)
A dependable, dynamic presence at the base of Chelsea's midfield. Caicedo featured heavily across all competitions last season, combining serious defensive output with a handful of spectacular goals along the way. Few midfielders in the league match his combination of stamina and ball-winning ability.
6. Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle to Arsenal)
A marquee summer arrival for the champions, Guimaraes joined from Newcastle to add further world-class quality to Arsenal's midfield. A tenacious, technically gifted box-to-box presence known for winning duels and progressing play, his arrival was read as a statement of intent as Arsenal look to defend their title.
5. William Saliba (Arsenal)
The "Rolls Royce" of Arsenal's defence. Saliba's reading of the game and recovery pace are elite, and while his centre-back partner Gabriel tends to grab more headlines, Saliba's composure on the ball and calm under pressure make a strong case for him as the league's best defender. He was ever-present for Arsenal throughout their title-winning campaign.
4. Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
The foundation of Arsenal's stingy defence, part of a back line that conceded some of the fewest goals in the league last season. Gabriel is a dominant, aggressive centre-back who excels at both ends of the pitch, and his partnership with Saliba reached new heights last season as he continued to chip in with important goals from set pieces.
3. Declan Rice (Arsenal)
A Premier League champion at last, and the heartbeat of Arsenal's title-winning midfield. Rice was named the club's Player of the Season for the second year running, an all-action presence who led the side for chances created from midfield while topping the squad for recoveries and tackles. His two-way play makes him close to irreplaceable for the Gunners.
2. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
The Portuguese playmaker had arguably the finest individual season of anyone in the league. Fernandes finished 2025/26 with a Premier League-record 21 assists, breaking a mark that had stood jointly to Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne since 2019/20, to go with nine goals in what was his most complete campaign yet. His form fired Manchester United to third place and a return to the Champions League, and it earned him both the Premier League's own Player of the Season award and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, an unusually clean sweep for a player from a team that didn't win the title. At 31, it was, statistically at least, the best season of his Old Trafford career.
1. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
The Premier League's most lethal finisher claimed his third Golden Boot in four seasons, scoring 27 goals in 35 appearances despite an uncharacteristic goalless stretch between Christmas and March. A physical outlier with blistering pace, his movement and instinct in the box remain unmatched in the league, and he even chipped in with eight assists, more than he'd previously managed in a single Premier League season.
Who Is the Best Player in the Premier League Right Now?
Erling Haaland is widely regarded as the best player in the league. The Manchester City striker's third Golden Boot in four seasons, 27 goals in 35 appearances, extended a run of consistency that has him among the fastest players in Premier League history to reach 100 goals in the competition.
It says something about the season Bruno Fernandes produced that he still ran Haaland close for the overall individual honours, winning the league's own Player of the Season award ahead of the Norwegian. But for pure, ruthless matchwinning ability, Haaland remains the league's most feared player.
