We’re fast approaching the business end of the 2025-26 Premier League season, and heading into March, everything is still very much to play for. The title race has coalesced into a two-team battle between leaders Arsenal and chasers Manchester City, while the push for Champions League soccer next season is neatly poised between several clubs — defending champions Liverpool are on the outside looking in, needing to close the gap to Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea.
At the bottom end of the table, Wolves‘ fate appears certain (they are 17 points adrift from safety with just 10 games left) and, to a lesser extent, Burnley‘s too (eight points back with 11 to play), but the third and final relegation spot could go to any one of Nottingham Forest, Tottenham or Leeds United from here.
Equally hard to call is the race for the Premier League’s Player of the Year, with no clear-cut, stand-out candidate yet and plenty of stars making a clear case for the prize. So, with 10 matchdays left, we asked our regular Premier League reporters to make their picks for the top award, and why they are worthy.
Tom Hamilton: Sometimes it makes sense to go for the obvious option. If Manchester City win the league, then you could argue their standout player was one of Bernardo Silva (for his guile), Nico O’Reilly (for his adaptability and temperament) or new arrivals Gianluigi Donnarumma and Antoine Semenyo. But if you want the clear and obvious choice, then it’s Haaland, the man at the top of the scoring charts.
The Norway forward is in the middle of a relatively quiet spell for his club, but his 22 league goals have helped City to where they are. The big change for Haaland this year? He’s becoming more of an all-around contributor and his work rate is through the roof, to the extent that he has also notched seven assists, second only to Bruno Fernandes and one behind his best total of eight back in the 2022-23 campaign. That’s 29 goal contributions. Not bad.
Take City’s recent 2-1 win over Newcastle: Haaland had more touches of the ball than ever before (43), he made the third-most clearances for the team (after Rodri and Marc Guéhi) and won 12 duels, the most he has managed in a top-flight game. “He’s an incredible, generous player, so today is a performance, and I’ll never forget what Erling has done for us,” manager Pep Guardiola said afterward.
So be afraid, Premier League: Haaland is evolving into a more all-around player, and his goals and assists should see him deservedly crowned player of the season.
James Olley: With everything in the league still to play for, from title to top four to relegation, it’s too early to be conclusive about this, but Arsenal are top of the table at present, and Declan Rice has been the heartbeat of a team competing impressively on four fronts.
Only MartÃn Zubimendi (2,360) has played more outfield Premier League minutes for the Gunners than Rice’s 2,329, and Rice ranks second in the division for chances created (defined by Opta as key passes and assists) behind Bruno Fernandes. But he is about much more than stats. Rice drives the Arsenal team forward as he has developed into a complete midfielder, affecting the game in his box-to-box role while also proving an extremely efficient set piece taker.
If Arsenal are to keep the pace, it will largely be a result of Rice maintaining the level of form and influence he has shown so far.
Sam Tighe: When there’s no “obvious” pick like during this season, it can trick you into thinking there haven’t been any outstanding candidates. But as the group outlines, we’re hardly short of incredible individual campaigns, are we?
I’ll throw my support in for James’ pick of Rice. In a Premier League landscape where physicality, mobility and tenacity reign supreme, the 27-year-old is the division’s leading light. To put it into context, among Arsenal players, only Zubimendi (293.57 km) has covered more ground than Rice (285.48 km) this term, while among all Premier League central midfielders, only Sandro Tonali (33.37 km/h) has clocked a higher max speed than Rice (33.17 km/h).
Rice is fast and relentless; if the Gunners win the title, his frenzied, all-action style will symbolize their approach to doing so. Yet he also backs up those athletic traits with finesse where required. There are very few better corner takers in the sport right now, and there’s no doubt he’s steadily getting better at picking a pass through the lines.
Beth Lindop: It might seem preposterous to nominate a Liverpool player considering how abject they have been at times this season, but in terms of pure individual excellence, Szoboszlai would be my pick.
In the summer, there was a suggestion in some quarters that the Hungary international could lose his place in the team following the arrival of the £116 million playmaker, Florian Wirtz, from Bayer Leverkusen. However, Szoboszlai has this season established himself as the first name on Arne Slot’s team sheet, with his relentless running, tactical flexibility and, of course, his eye for a spectacular strike having kept the Reds’ campaign from descending into total disaster.
With 10 goals to his name already this season, Szoboszlai is well on course to surpass his career-best goal tally. He has also deputized admirably at right back amid Liverpool’s ongoing injury crisis, while his noticeable willingness to speak more frequently to the media is reflective of a player keen to assume more responsibility within the team and position himself as a future club captain.
Liverpool’s disappointing collective form means Szoboszlai will most likely miss out on individual accolades, but he should definitely be in the conversation.
Antoine Semenyo, FW, Manchester City (formerly at Bournemouth)
Mark Ogden: This is a tough one because there really hasn’t been an outstanding candidate so far this season, but my pick right now would be Semenyo. He was outstanding for Bournemouth during the first half of the season — his 10 Premier League goals kept Andoni Iraola on the tails of the top six for a while — but his performances meant it was inevitable he would move on in January, and he had a queue of heavyweight clubs wanting to sign him before he chose Manchester City.
Even though a deal was done and his release clause was triggered, Semenyo agreed to stay at Bournemouth for two extra games in January before making his move. No fuss, no drama: just a professional attitude and the perfect sign-off with a stoppage time winner against Spurs in his final game.
His form at City has been just as impressive, and he kept them in the title race during their midseason wobble with three goals in his first five games. So for performing at his top level for two clubs and showing professionalism throughout, I’m going for Semenyo.
Rob Dawson: There were genuine concerns about whether Brentford would be able to avoid relegation this season after losing manager Thomas Frank — as well as key players Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa, Christian Nørgaard and Mark Flekken — in one summer. Goals were expected to be a particular problem after both Mbeumo and Wissa — who combined for 39 in the Premier League last season — moved on.
Frank’s replacement, Keith Andrews, deserves a lot of credit for turning this season into a push for Europe instead of a battle against the drop. But so too does Igor Thiago. His 17 league goals have cushioned the blow of losing Mbeumo and Wissa. It’s a fantastic return for a 24-year-old striker in his first full campaign in England after last season was ruined by injury.
Scoring goals in the toughest league in the world is a big ask, and Thiago has done it regularly. Unfortunately for Brentford, he has done so well that the inevitable question will be: How long can they keep him before he follows Mbeumo and Wissa out of the door?
Gab Marcotti: To me, it’s pretty simple. Aston Villa might be on the slide, but they’re still third, well ahead of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea. And this is after a summer when they didn’t really add anybody of note and lost their sporting director, Monchi, as well. A lot of that is down to Rogers: He has started every game and has usually been a difference-maker each time.
Rogers doesn’t have the greatest supporting cast — certainly not compared to the other suggestions who are sure to crop up — and I think it’s fair to say that, without him, Villa would be midtable at best. Only four players have more open play goal involvements (non-penalty goals and assists) than he does this season, and all of them play for bigger and better-resourced sides: Haaland, Fernandes, Semenyo and João Pedro.
Throw in the fact that he invented Cole Palmer‘s goal celebration — they were teammates at City, and Palmer “borrowed” it from him — and to me he’s the obvious choice.
MartÃn Zubimendi, MF, Arsenal
Julien Laurens: When Arsenal spent €60 million last summer to activate his release clause and recruit him from Real Sociedad, there were a lot of skeptics about his adaptation to the Premier League, his potential and even his talent, but there was also concern about his ability to take the Gunners to the next level. And yet, I think he has already proved all the doubters wrong.
It has not always been perfect, obviously — remember his mistake against Manchester United — but overall, he has been impressive. His ability to dictate the tempo of a game, his intelligence and his reading of the play have been outstanding. He has also scored five Premier League goals already, which is more than Szoboszlai, more than Rice and only three less than Rogers, who is a more advanced player, by the way. Some of his goals have also been key, such as the openers against Forest, Leeds and Sunderland, in keeping Arsenal on course for a potential first league title in over 20 years.
Zubimendi makes Rice and Jurriën Timber better, and there is still so much room for improvement from him as well. He has had such a great impact on the team that it’s worth celebrating.
