Which Premier League players on Big Six clubs have improved their standing the most in the 2025/26 season? Here is one standout from each of the top clubs in the English top flight.
Arsenal: Jurrien Timber
Jurrien Timber was already a top defender before joining Arsenal and had a solid 2024/25 season, but he has really stepped up his game and become the best right back in the Premier League this season, usurping another great right back in Ben White.
He is such a great athlete and can lock any player down one on one. There is not a better defensive fullback on either side of the formation than Timber, who has translated even better to the Premiership. This season, he has been one of the heroes of an Arsenal side that is the best team in the Premier League, and he should honestly be getting more praies than he is outside of North London.
Chelsea: Joao Pedro
While Wesley Fofana is worth a controversial shout, his play has fallen back to normal lately, and he is closer to average than great. But Joao Pedro? Now he has been truly great for Chelsea this season, building on a promising but overall inconsistent time at Brighton.
Pedro has been even better at a bigger club, and he has really taken the reigns, one of the few players to benefit from Liam Rosenior’s uneven start to life at Stamford Bridge. He has been one of the most clinical forwards in the Premier League this season, and that is a breath of fresh air for the Blues. But beyond the 14 Premier League goals, Pedro’s creativity and hold up play have been brilliant and are getting better and better with each passing week.
Liverpool: Dominik Szoboszlai
Most of Liverpool’s players have actually been maddeningly disappointing this season, including playmaker Florian Wirtz and, moreso, the winger duo of Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah.
Now, Dominik Szoboszlai was always good long before he joined the Premier League, but it says something that the is the best year of his career. Look, the Steven Gerrard comparisons from some of these young fans are downright disrespectful, but I can get the sentiment. Szobo is starring even at right back, and his engine and creative quality, as well as his quality as a shooter, are uncanny. He has become certified world class this season.
Manchester City: Antoine Semenyo
Antoine Semenyo was right there with Erling Haaland as a Premier League Player of the Season candidate to start the 2025/26 season, as he was leading Bournemouth to some real upset and European football contention against the odds as the star of a dangerous counter attacking team.
Now on Manchester City, Semenyo has still been deadly clinical with a handful of goals, and while his dribbling output is suffering against deeper defenses, Semenyo is still a handful for center backs to deal with due to his sheer explosiveness. He has truly blossomed into being one of the elite wingers in the Premier League and only makes Man City that much more dangerous.
Manchester United: Patrick Dorgu
Patrick Dorgu initially looked like a transfer bust, but the former Lecce left back was thriving in a more attacking role under manager Michael Carrick after the interim coach turned him into a more attacking role.
Dorgu has his flaws and is not the best player technically, but he is so good at just gunning the gas pedal and exploding with the ball to break the lines. He is also great at winning the ball, and when he can play a bit further up with a license to run, he creates the good kind of havoc for his team.
Tottenham Hotspur: Mohammed Kudus
While Mohammed Kudus was always a great player for West Ham United, he was playing at an even higher level after joining Tottenham Hotspur, and his multi month injury greatly hurt Spurs ability to compete in the Premier League. Without him pretty much carrying the team from an attacking perspective under Thomas Frank, Tottenham had fallen into the relegation fight.
Kudus is so creative and so good at producing chances. He will endlessly take defenders on in one on ones, and he has the skill to win more often than not. Quicker than he is fast, Kudus is a high end athlete and technician, and with Igor Tudor and a more expansive Tottenham attack with the young stars getting the minutes they deserve, Kudus will be even more intriguing to watch when he returns from injury.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.