Erling Haaland, Declan Rice and GOAL's Premier League Team of the 2025-26 Season so far

David Raya set the tone for his season with three excellent saves in the opening-day win at Manchester United, and only conceded three goals in his first 10 games.

And so while the resolute defence in front of him deserves a lot of credit for Arsenal having the best defensive record in the division, Raya has added another shield of security by expertly keeping watch and making his share of valuable saves.

Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood recently labelled Jurrien Timber as the best full-back in the Premier League while Gary Neville went even further, calling the Arsenal defender 'the best full-back in the world'. Gunners fans would certainly agree.

The Dutchman - who learned his trade at Ajax as a centre-back - has managed to lock down a place in Mikel Arteta's side at both left-back and right-back at various points during his two-and-a-half seasons at the club. He has now, however, settled on the latter role this season, dislodging the previously unmovable Ben White.

Timber's blend of being tidy in possession and physically intimidating has helped him transition seamlessly to moving out wide, and he has developed a whole new level of understanding with Bukayo Saka.

Gabriel Magalhaes embodies Arsenal's defensive steel and threat from set-pieces more than anyone else, so there was understandable concern when he picked up an injury during the November international break. Those fears have been realised as Arsenal have conceded five goals in the five league games he has missed, having let in five in the 11 matches he did play in. 

Gabriel's goals and assists have been worth six points to Arsenal already, and as the title race heats up, his return cannot come soon enough for Arteta.

Marc Guehi was said to be furious with Crystal Palace for blocking his deadline-day move to Liverpool, but he has not acted like it, playing with even more consistency than before and managing to be even more decisive.

Palace's defence was the second-meanest behind Arsenal's until Saturday's drubbing at Leeds, and Guehi is the main reason why. He has also been a lethal weapon in the opposition's box, too, as he snatched a last-gasp winner at Fulham while assisting in the narrow victories over Burnley and Liverpool. This will be Guehi's last season at Selhurst Park, but he is not resting on his laurels, and his exceptional displays mean he will have the pick of Europe's top clubs as a free agent next summer.

Marc Cucurella must be one of the most improved players in the Premier League over the last three years. He was the butt of many jokes in his first season at Chelsea and was not helped by the instability around Stamford Bridge as they cycled through three managers.

He started to improve under Mauricio Pochettino, but has reached a whole new level under Enzo Maresca, whose Pep Guardiola-lite vision of football suits Cucurella perfectly given his background at Barcelona's La Masia academy.

Jeremy Doku produced one of the best-ever individual performances in a top-level Premier League game when he single-handedly dazzled Liverpool in November, yet that display was no exception to to level the Manchester City winger has been producing all season.

Doku always had the ability to run rings around defenders, but in the last year he has improved his decision-making and final ball, making him the complete winger and an utter nightmare to come up against. In the words of Daniel Sturridge: "Everyone that he plays against, doesn't matter who it is, he's gonna cause you problems."

Arsenal signed Declan Rice because they viewed him as the ideal holding midfielder, but he has grown into a very different beast in his three seasons at the club.

Rice has everything you would want from a midfielder: the willingness to come into defence and build from there, the passing range to switch the play in an instant, plus a deadly dead-ball delivery. But ask his coach what makes Rice stand out and he will say the effect he has had on everyone else.

"The impact he has on the team, it's huge," Arteta said last month. "I knew him for a long time and I knew how he could evolve and change the team. He has certainly done it and probably improved on those expectations."

Bruno Fernandes recently claimed that Manchester United's top brass would have been happy to cash in on him over the summer when Al-Hilal came calling, but they must be glad they let Ruben Amorim have the final say as Fernandes has been as pivotal as ever, carrying this ragged and dysfunctional Red Devils on his back once more.

He has provided the most assists in the Premier League (seven) and has the second-highest number of direct goal contributions (12) in the top-flight, and that is despite being asked to play deeper than in previous years as there is no other player in the United squad with the ability to direct the play.

Now that Fernandes has finally succumbed to injury after appearing bullet-proof for the last six years, United fans should be very afraid.

The race to sign Antoine Semenyo has already begun, with Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United all showing a willingness to pay his £65m ($86m) release clause in January. On this season's form, that price looks like a bargain.

Semenyo is the most direct wide forward in the league, and has taken more shots than any player aside from Erling Haaland. For many weeks, only Man City's No.9 had more goals and assists than Semenyo, and even though the Ghana forward endured a two-month goal drought, he remains third on that list.

Haaland has looked utterly determined to wrestle back the Golden Boot after loaning it out to Mohamed Salah last season. This is proving to be his most prolific season since his record-breaking debut campaign at City having netted 19 times in his first 17 games, while also adding three assists.

Haaland is even more pivotal to City's title hopes now, having scored 44 per cent of their total goals, and he has only failed to find the net in five matches. His much-criticised all-round play has also massively improved, and while a third top-scorer's award in four years is his to lose, if he can fire City to the title, it is hard to see how he does not scoop the PFA Player of the Year prize too.

When Brentford waved goodbye to Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo last summer, they must have wondered where the goals would come. Between them, the pair had scored 59% of the Bees' total output last season's Premier League. 

The answer has emerged in the shape of Igor Thiago, who arrived from Club Brugge in 2024 but missed most of his debut season through injury. The Brazilian has proven to be the ideal target man for Keith Andrews' side, scoring more goals (11) than every player in the league aside from Haaland. Granted, five of his efforts have been penalties, but Thiago's ease at converting spot-kicks has only brought more comparisons with the man he was signed to replace: Ivan Toney.