Declan Rice Named Arsenal Player of the Season Again
Declan Rice arrived at Arsenal to change games. Two years on, he is changing history.
For the second consecutive season, the England midfielder has been voted the club’s men’s Player of the Season, taking 44% of the supporters’ vote after a campaign that dragged the Premier League trophy back to north London for the first time in 22 years and carried Arsenal all the way to only their second Champions League final.
David Raya finished second in the poll, Gabriel third. This was Rice’s award from the moment the run-in began.
Joining an elite Arsenal club
Back‑to‑back Player of the Season winners at Arsenal sit in rare air. Rice becomes only the sixth player to achieve it, stepping into a line that runs through Liam Brady, Ian Wright and Thierry Henry, and more recently Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.
Those names are not just fan favourites; they are era‑defining figures. Rice is now firmly in that conversation.
His first year as a Gunner ended with him as runner‑up in the 2023/24 vote. Since then, he has owned the podium: two seasons, two trophies in the cabinet at London Colney with his name on them.
The engine of a title charge
If Arsenal’s season was defined by control and intensity, Rice was the embodiment of both.
He operated wherever Mikel Arteta needed him: anchoring in front of the back four, stepping higher to press and probe, or driving from deep to turn a tight game. The tactical labels hardly matter. What counted was the constant presence, the sense that when the tempo had to rise, Rice would be the one to light the fuse.
Set pieces became another weapon. He finished the season with nine assists in all competitions and five goals, including a brace in a pivotal January win over Bournemouth that underlined his growing authority in the final third. Corners and free-kicks around the box felt different when he stood over them or attacked them.
The numbers behind the performances are as relentless as his running. No Arsenal player created more chances than Rice’s 96. No one won the ball back more often than his 239 recoveries. No one made more tackles than his 91. When the game turned chaotic, he imposed order. When it slowed, he injected urgency.
And he did it week after week.
Across 55 appearances, Rice logged 4,456 minutes, more than any other outfielder in the squad. For the third straight season as a Gunner, he has been trusted for over a half‑century of games. Availability, for him, is not a trait; it is a standard.
Recognition beyond north London
Such dominance rarely stays local. Rice’s influence has been recognised across the continent.
He earned a place in the Champions League Team of the Season after driving Arsenal deep into Europe, and his domestic form brought nominations for both the Premier League and PFA Player of the Season awards. In a league stacked with elite midfielders, his name keeps appearing in the same conversations, the same shortlists.
Now comes the next stage. Rice is currently with England at the 2026 World Cup, carrying club form into the international spotlight. More honours may yet follow, on an even grander stage.
For Arsenal, though, the verdict is already in. In a season that restored a title and reasserted their place among Europe’s elite, Declan Rice was the constant heartbeat. The numbers tell one story. The trophy in the cabinet and the vote of the supporters tell the rest.
