Premier League Midfield Power Rankings: Rice Tops the Lot as Caicedo Closes In
Arsenal’s Declan Rice has been crowned the Premier League’s top midfielder right now, edging out Chelsea powerhouse Moises Caicedo in a fresh ranking that’s already causing a fair bit of noise across north and west London. With both clubs slugging it out again this season, the debate has shifted firmly into the middle of the park — and Rice, once again, was the man setting the pace.
Chelsea and Arsenal fans won’t need reminding that this time last year it was all about Cole Palmer v Bukayo Saka. But with Palmer now a fully fledged star and Saka doing Saka things, the spotlight’s moved behind them. Rice and Caicedo — two hulking, £100m-plus machines — has become the real battleground, and this top-10 list spells out exactly why.
The ranking sticks to proper midfielders — none of your half-winger, half-No.10 hybrids. Just the lads who can sit in a 4-3-3, win a scrap in the middle, move the ball and not vanish the moment things get a bit tasty. Some big names miss out entirely — Casemiro, Tonali, even Alexis Mac Allister — which tells you how brutal the Premier League’s midfield class has become.
10. Martin Zubimendi (Arsenal)
Arsenal fans barely had time to moan about missing out on him in 2024 before Zubimendi turned up a year later anyway and slotted straight in. The Spaniard’s been class — calm on the ball, sharp without it, the sort of No.6 they’ve not really had since before Mikel Arteta put the tracksuit on. He’s quietly been one of the signings of the 2025–26 season.
9. Enzo Fernández (Chelsea)
Chelsea chucked £106m at Benfica for Enzo like it was pocket change, and for a while it looked a bit daft. Not now. The Argentine’s finally got to grips with the pace of the league, chipping in with goals and assists under Enzo Maresca. He’s not a pure creator, not a pure destroyer, but he’s doing enough of everything to hold Chelsea’s midfield together.
8. Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)
Liverpool’s wobbling all over the place but don’t blame this bloke. Szoboszlai’s been shoved around the pitch, even filling in at right-back, but he’s still contributing goals and graft. With Gravenberch and Mac Allister misfiring, Szoboszlai’s effectively been sticking duct tape over Liverpool’s midfield cracks on his own.
7. Granit Xhaka (Sunderland)
Yes, Xhaka. Sunderland. And he’s been brilliant. His reinvention from Arsenal hot-head to Bundesliga champion to Premier League midfield general is the stuff of documentaries. Everything runs through him under Regis Le Bris, and the Black Cats’ early-season punch above their weight owes loads to the Swiss veteran.
6. Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle)
Newcastle might’ve had to sell Alexander Isak, but Guimarães isn’t going anywhere. He’s their heartbeat. Their engine. Their do-everything-properly midfielder. Since arriving in 2022, he’s barely stopped playing — over 170 games already — and he’s just as crucial for Brazil. Goals, assists, tackles, the lot.
5. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal)
Hard to place him, this. World-class when fit, looked a Player of the Year shout 18 months ago, but he’s spent too long injured or off-colour. Arsenal’s flying run without him hasn’t helped his case either. Still, once he shakes off the latest knock — helped by an anti-gravity treadmill, no less — he’ll slot back into one of the Premier League’s most fluid midfields.
4. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
United are a mess, but Fernandes isn’t. Ruben Amorim insists on sticking him deeper in a 3-4-3, which feels unnecessary, but he still drags United forward more than anyone else. He barely misses a match and still posts numbers, even if the rest of the squad was miles off it last season. Without him, they’d probably has finished even lower than 15th.
3. Rodri (Manchester City)
A Ballon d’Or winner… but barely seen since due to that ACL tear. City have looked lost without him — Haaland’s practically carrying the whole title challenge on his back — but Rodri remains one of the best midfielders of his generation. If he gets anywhere near full fitness, City’s season flips on its head.
2. Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)
Caicedo’s taken a bit of time but now looks every inch the £115m midfield monster Chelsea paid for. Error-prone early on, yes, but now he’s the best ball-winner in the division. Keepers don’t normally rave about midfielders, but Robert Sánchez called him “an actual animal… a beast… the best on the planet in his position”. Big talk — and hard to argue with right now.
1. Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Top spot, naturally, goes to Rice. Arsenal’s No.41 does everything: breaks lines, wins duels, sets pieces, starts moves, finishes moves. He’s gone from tidy West Ham holder to full-blown all-action leader, with 26 assists for Arsenal already. He’s made back-to-back PFA Teams of the Year and is as crucial to England as Harry Kane. All he’s missing is the big trophy to seal his legacy — and if Arsenal keep their nerve, that wait might finally be over.
With the title race tightening and European spots up for grabs, expect this list to shift again by spring — but right now, Rice sits on the throne, Caicedo’s charging up behind him, and the Premier League midfield battleground has rarely looked this stacked.