Only twice over the course of the past 13 years has a defender been crowned Premier League Player of the Season.
Virgil van Dijk was handed the honour in 2018/19, before Ruben Dias got the nod in 2020/21.
It’s a bit early in the season to be speculating on who might be wearing the crown come the end of the 2025/26 campaign, but there’s every chance that a defender – an Arsenal defender, no less – is declared the victor.
The man most likely? Gabriel Magalhaes.
The Rock
One of the reasons that the Gunners have gained supremacy at the top of the EPL table is due to their quality at both ends of the pitch.
Those that bet on sports online with Paddy Power will have noticed that Arsenal are as short as 8/13 in the Premier League outright winner market, with Man City (9/4) and Liverpool (10/1) already cut adrift.
The sports tips columns may have taken more of an interest in the Cityzens after their demolition of Liverpool before the international break, while Arsenal’s ‘second-itis’ narrative will no doubt get trotted out too.
But make no mistake, this Gunners side bears all the hallmarks of a Premier League champion. While not explosive in an attacking sense, Mikel Arteta has no doubt improved in this department with Arsenal averaging just shy of two goals per game scored after eleven rounds of Premier League games.
However, it’s the defensive operation that is really thriving, with seven clean sheets in those eleven starts.
That’s record setting pace, with the current 0.30 goals per game concession rate better than Chelsea’s 0.39 when they broke the Premier League record for fewest goals conceded in a single campaign back in 2004/05.
This is a team that defends from front to back, but it’s that man Gabriel that stands out as a colossus at centre back.
Player of the Season
It’s easy to quantify the output of attacking players: goals, assists, key passes. The numbers speak for themselves.
Defenders can be measured by clean sheets, but their individual contribution is harder to attest to unless you’re watching them play week in, week out.
And anyone that watches Gabriel every week knows that Arsenal have one of the best defenders on the planet in their midst.
Aside from Arsenal’s remarkable clean sheet tally, there are other stats that help to identify Gabriel’s class. The Brazilian averages 5.9 clearances per game and 1.2 blocks, which easily puts him amongst the Premier League’s elite.
But there’s so much more than basic defending to Gabriel’s game; his pace and strength, his intelligence, his ability to eliminate dangerous attacks before they develop. These are all priceless and all difficult to quantify in numbers.
So the panel of judges who decide the Premier League’s Player of the Year can look at Erling Haaland’s goals quantitively in their analysis.
Or, they can subjectively watch Gabriel marshal one of the best defences in Premier League history – so far, at least – and perhaps come to the conclusion that the 27-year-old is one of the most important players in the EPL in 2025/26.