Defensive players rarely win individual awards. The only pure defender to win the Ballon d’Or in the last 55 years was Fabio Cannavaro and that was largely because he captained 2006 World Cup winners Italy. In the Premier League, two defenders have won the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year award since 1993 – Virgil van Dijk and John Terry. The only Football Writers Association’ winner since 1989 was Ruben Dias.
Goalkeepers win individual awards even less: often. Peter Shilton was the last for the PFA in 1978 and Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d’Or. Is that not strange? Sixty-nine years of an international award being handed out, perhaps eight positions to pick from (goalkeeper, full-back, centre-back, defensive midfielder, central midfielder, No 10, winger/wide forward, striker) and a goalkeeper picked once.
It suggests one of two things: defensive players are weaker than attacking players or people just prefer attacking players winning awards because we like goalscoring and attacking endeavour. It’s the second of those and it’s time to redress the balance.
Bruno Fernandes has arguably carried Manchester United for years (Photo: Getty)I broadly believe that the Player of the Year award should go to an individual involved in the title race, unless there is an extraordinary reason not to do so. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes comes close to that for the sheer volume of assists and the standard of the Premier League in general, but I don’t believe it quite worthy enough. You can certainly argue that Fernandes makes the biggest difference to one team (although Morgan Gibbs-White has a similar case), but that isn’t my selection criterion.
I’m then ruling out Manchester City players. The only options were Erling Haaland, who has had better Premier League seasons and endured a quiet spell between December and March, and Rayan Cherki. Cherki has been superb since February but has only started 19 league games.
We’re down to two options. The first is Declan Rice, who is likely to rival Fernandes for the PFA award. Rice would be a perfectly reasonable winner, but his excellence lies in consistency over an extended period more than starring over a single season. I think some of Rice’s best work came towards the end of 2024-25. The deliberately controlled nature of Mikel Arteta’s tactical style this season has limited Rice slightly, albeit he has still flourished.
Handily, I think 2025-26 is the perfect campaign for a defensive player to win individual awards. It is the theme of the Premier League season: more 0-0s and 1-0s and almost half a goal down per game from 2023-24. If Arsenal win the league, it is not because of their work in midfield or attack. They have conceded 26 goals.
David Raya has been the difference-maker in this title race above any other player. He has won the Golden Glove already because his 18 clean sheets are four clear of anyone else. He has kept clean sheets in 55 per cent of his appearances in all competitions.
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Daniel Storey: Yes, it was a foul on David Raya – but that completely misses the point Kat Lucas: Arsenal have one hand on title thanks to most controversial VAR call in historySpeak to any Arsenal supporter and they will tell you that Raya has earned them 10 points or more; he has made extraordinary reaction saves throughout this season. Speak to any teammate and they will wax lyrical about his calming impact.
As Mikel Arteta said on Sunday after potentially the defining victory of Arsenal’s season, Raya has produced a series of “magic moments” this season that have pulled his team closer to the title and avoided further pressure from building.
I think he has done so more often than any other player in the title race. Raya was a slightly unpopular replacement – amongst Arsenal supporters, even – for Aaron Ramsdale and he has become one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He defines both their title push this season and their relentless improvement over the last three years. He is my Player of the Year.
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