The Premier League has suddenly usurped La Liga by having the best midfield play in the league from top to bottom, and it isn’t just the superstars at the Big Six clubs who are impressing. Based on a review of the analytics, here are the 10 best midfielders in the Premier League right now in the 2025/26 season, ranked in order.
10. Martin Zubimendi, Arsenal
Martin Zubimendi has been everything Arsenal could have hoped for. His game intelligence and positioning off the ball are tremendous, and he has given the Gunners a sense of control that exceeds all others.
Arsenal are the closest they have been to winning the Premier League and the strongest they have been under Mikel Arteta. Zubi is a huge reason why, showing that La Liga stars really don’t have to undergo much of a transition period to the English top flight at all.
9. Casemiro, Manchester United
Far from finished, Casemiro is having a sensational season for Manchester United, and it would be wise for the Red Devils to meet his wage demands – as long as they don’t become too insane – because what he is providing is invaluable.
The football has not left Case, who is averaging a team leading 2.4 tackles per game. This is the best season of his career creatively in many respects, and his six goals are also outstanding. He has been revived to another degree by Michael Carrick, too.
8. Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea
Enzo Fernandez is the best midfielder on this planet at coming up and scoring goals, and that trait has always been a hallmark of the great Chelsea midfielders. Though Enzo initially didn’t seem like he would make good on his nine figure price tag, he and Moises Caicedo have settled in together as top class pillars of this midfield.
The Argentinian World Cup hero has eight goals and three assists in total. He is one of the best creators and ball winners in the Premier League, and the traits he scores highly in are the most coveted in deep lying midfielders.
7. Granit Xhaka, Sunderland
Sunderland are clearly going to survive the drop in their first season back in the Premier League, and the shrewd veteran bargain signing of Bayer Leverkusen’s undefeated hero – and former Arsenal captain – Granit Xhaka has been a huge reason behind the success.
Xhaka has been a shutdown defender in one on ones and is a playmaker extraordinaire for Sunderland with five assists, standing out as their best overall offensive player despite being a deep lying midfielder.
6. Anton Stach, Leeds
Anton Stach has been one of the signings of the summer, too, and after playing at a legitimately world class level in the Bundesliga for multiple underdog teams, he has not missed a beat under the bright lights of the Premier League.
There is a lot of pressure on him as the big signing for Leeds this past summer and the new leader of the squad, but he has measured appropriately. Stach is both one of the best defensive midfielders and one of the best playmakers as a No. 6 in the Premier League and even in world football.
5. Moises Caicedo, Chelsea
It is strange to think of Moises Caicedo as underrated, but because he does so much great work on the defensive end, few are recognizing that he has been Chelsea’s best player this season and is having a sensational season at the base of the Blues elite midfield.
Caicedo is derided as a shin chopper by rival fanbases, but they are just jealous of his production and engine. The Ecuadorian superstar is averaging more than five combined tackles and interceptions per game; he is the best in the world at what he does.
4. James Garner, Everton
More teams need to be calling up the phone about James Garner’s availability this summer transfer window, because his exceptional 2025/26 Premier League season has flown under the radar way too much.
The guy does the work of three men in the middle of the park. Garner is averaging 1.4 key passes per game with five assists while putting up three tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game. Those are insane numbers, and now 24 years old, Garner is hitting his peak and refining his game to be almost the perfect center midfielder.
3. Elliot Anderson, Nottingham Forest
No player has been a bigger breakout star in midfield this season in the Premier League than Elliot Anderson, and you can see why Manchester City, who do not have a top 10 midfielder for the first time under Pep Guardiola, are so interested in acquiring him.
Anderson is a Rolls Royce player as an athlete and in terms of his execution as a progressive passer. He is averaging an insane 3.5 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game with 1.4 key passes per match. On defense, he is the team’s best ball winner with four combined tackles and interceptions per game.
2. Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle
It feels like Bruno Guimaraes is one of the most underappreciated players in world football year after year despite now regularly being one of the best midfielders in the Premier League – and he was one of the best in Ligue 1 for Lyon before that.
Bruno fits the Newcastle mentality so well, and it would be tragic if the Magpies lost their best leader. He is having another insane season in 2025/26 with 9 goals, 4 assists, 2.2 tackles per game, 2.3 fouls drawn per contest, and 1.7 key passes per contest. He can do everything at an elite level. Insane footballer.
1. Declan Rice, Arsenal
Declan Rice is in a class of his own and is the clear best midfielder in the Premier League this season, though the top five and the entire top ten, really, are phenomenal.
But what Rice provides as a deep lying creator and metronome setter for Arsenal is far beyond what anyone else is doing in English football. Rice has nine goal contributions with roughly two key passes per game while providing excellent defense.
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.