Alan Shearer selected five Arsenal players for the Premier League’s Team of the Season, more than from any other club.
Alan Shearer revealed his Team of the Season on the official Premier League website at the end of May, selecting five players from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team.
Despite the Gunners finishing second, it’s perhaps no surprise that the defence was dominated by three Arsenal selections – Ben White, William Saliba, and Gabriel Magalhaes.
After all, Arsenal had the best defence in the league and kept the most clean sheets of any team in the division.
Shearer also picked Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard along with Rodri in midfield, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer on the wings, and Ollie Watkins and Erling Haaland up front, with Jordan Pickford in goal.
On White, Shearer wrote that the right-back “probably didn’t imagine at the start of the season that he would end up playing as an inverted full-back, but he took on that role brilliantly and got into dangerous areas with well-timed runs”.
On Saliba, Shearer said the French international was “a rock at the heart of the meanest Premier League defence this season” adding that the centre-back was “a key reason why” the Gunners had the league’s best defensive record.
As for Gabriel, Shearer pointed to “his partnership with Saliba” and the fact he “was a big threat from set-pieces”.
Ahead of those defenders, Shearer praised Rice for the way he “slotted into Arsenal’s midfield as if he had played there all his life” adding that “he protected the backline brilliantly while also getting forward to score seven goals and set up another eight”.
Finally, on Odegaard, Shearer wrote that the Arsenal captain “led by example” and highlighted the 18 goals the Norwegian scored or assisted from midfield.
Shearer wasn’t the only one to select Arsenal players in his Team of the Season, with Garth Crooks of the BBC also selecting four Gunners. You can read about that here.