Arsenal have made a strong start in the Premier League this season after a memorable 2025, reaching the Champions League semi-finals, but one player stands out.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta decided during the summer that he needed a new deep midfielder to get the best out of Declan Rice. The Gunners have made their intentions clear by signing Martin Zvimendi in a £55m deal, making the Spain international their first outfield addition of the summer.
While Zvimendi has been successful in his own right, the freedom his addition has given Rice is clear. Arsenal fans voted for their team’s player of the year in a Mirror Football WhatsApp poll, with England star Rice a landslide winner.
The £105 million man was one of five players fans had their eye on for not just the first half of the 2025/26 season, but for the entirety of 2025. So, in addition to his performances this season, we were able to look back at his two spectacular free-kicks against Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League.
Rice faced centre-backs Gabriel and William Saliba, goalkeeper David Raya and winger Bukayo Saka. It wasn’t a close call, with the midfielder receiving more than three-quarters of the votes.
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On Saturday, Rice produced another dominant performance in a 1-0 win against Everton. Former West Ham manager David Moyes described him as “probably the best midfielder in the world”, and Arteta also praised him.
“(Declan’s) unbelievable play, his leadership on the pitch, the amount of balls he won back for us to run on,” the Gunners manager said. “He’s been incredibly consistent this year. What a great player he is for us.”
It’s not just Rice’s play on the field that’s garnering attention. His leadership has contributed to Arsenal’s prosperity, and there have been calls for him to replace Martin Odegaard as the club’s permanent captain, and one day replace Harry Kane as England captain.
“I have to say Declan Rice was fantastic, he was fun to watch,” former Three Lions captain Wayne Rooney said on the Wayne Rooney Show after the Everton game.
“He was by far the best player on the pitch. For me he is a future England captain. He is probably the one Harry is waiting to put on his shoes one day.”
“He was all over the pitch. His decision-making was fun to watch: when to pass, where to pass, which foot to pass to, the details of the pass. He was really good.
“He was splitting up the centre-backs, taking the ball away from the Arsenal centre-backs, acting as a third centre-back and the next moment he was in the box trying to score a goal. Sometimes you can underestimate some of the things he does.”
“He is the right person for me to succeed Kane because of his drive and personality. Everyone who knows and is close to him seems to love him. He is an irreplaceable asset to England.”
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