Having passed the halfway mark of the 2023/24 Premier League season, Alex Keble picks out the best performers of the campaign so far.
All his picks in his Team of the Season come from the Premier League’s top five teams.
But league position isn’t everything. Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa boast more players than Manchester City. Leaders Liverpool have the joint-most selections, while Arsenal have two players in the team.
Here’s a breakdown of the full XI, followed by five honourable mentions.
Guglielmo Vicario (Spurs)
The Spurs ‘keeper has been simply magnificent since arriving from Empoli last summer.
He is the complete package. A safe pair of hands, an elite shot-stopper, talented with his feet and superb at leaving his box to sweep up behind Spurs’ ultra-high defensive line.
Vicario tops the Premier League charts for post-shot Expected Goals minus goals allowed, with +6.7, meaning that based on the quality of the shots faced, Vicario has saved 6.7 more goals than you would expect of a Premier League goalkeeper.
He is also second for defensive actions outside the penalty area, with 47, at an average of 2.35 per game, which is more than double his previous career-high average (1.00 in 21/22).
In other words, he has had to adapt to Ange Postecoglou – not that you would know it. Keeping five clean sheets in such a kamikaze Spurs team says it all.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Not only are criticisms of his 1v1 defending exaggerated, they also unfairly detract attention from Alexander-Arnold’s sublime and world-beating attacking output.
He is everything everywhere all at once, both a sweeping-up defensive midfielder and a full-throttle right-back. Indeed, he ranks second for recoveries among outfield players, with 131, and sixth for crosses, with 113.
The England international is also an all-action No 8, ranking ninth for total touches, with 1,583, and a playmaker, sitting fourth for shot-creating actions, with 91, and second for through-balls, with 18.
There are so many more stats we could draw on, but suffice to say Alexander-Arnold is a one-of-a-kind footballer who should be more widely celebrated.
William Saliba (Arsenal)
The centre-back’s final match of last season, before being struck down with injury, was in a 3-0 win over Fulham on 12 March. Arsenal were top at the time, but would go on to win only five of their last 11 Premier League matches.
Saliba is a calm and dominant figure at the heart of defence, both off the ball and on it: he ranks fourth in the division for touches, with 1,721, third for carries, with 1,174, and first among centre-backs for recoveries, recording 121.
The Frenchman has been ever-present so far. Arsenal fans are praying that, this time, he remains fit all the way through to May.
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Liverpool’s towering centre-back is the comeback story of the season so far. There were times in 2022/23 when it appeared Van Dijk – so hesitant and error-prone – might never get back to his previous levels.
In 2023/24 he has emphatically answered his critics, topping the charts for both aerial duels won, with 82, and percentage of aerial duels won, with 82 per cent.
Tellingly, Van Dijk has made more interceptions (24) than any other Liverpool player; he is back to his sharp, anticipatory best.
Liverpool have conceded 0.9 goals per game this season, compared with 1.24 in 2022/23. That is primarily thanks to Van Dijk, whose commanding presence emboldens everyone around him.
Destiny Udogie (Spurs)
It hasn’t been a vintage season for left-backs so far, but Udogie gets the nod here for adapting so quickly and deftly to Postecoglou’s unique tactical demands.
Udogie regularly charges out from left-back into an advanced central midfield position, making unseen runs beyond the opposition backline. For long stretches, he is more like a second-striker than a left-back.
But Udogie does the defensive work too, sitting joint-top among Spurs players for interceptions made, with 20. The 21-year-old has a very bright future.
Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Arsenal’s growing goalscoring issues have thankfully been counterbalanced this season by improvements made to their defence: Mikel Arteta’s side are conceding 0.82 xG per game, compared with 1.11 xG per game in 2022/23.
That is almost entirely thanks to Rice, the Premier League’s most accomplished all-round central midfielder.
Rice rose to fame as a defensive midfielder, and indeed he tops the Arsenal charts for tackles won, with 24, and is joint-fifth in the league for interceptions (30), but there is so much more to his game than that; nobody in the Premier League has made more progressive passes than Rice’s 184.
Rodri (Man City)
Rodri has missed three Premier League games for Man City this season. They lost all three.
That’s evidence enough of his astonishing talent, and proof that even if there are some post-Treble hangovers in the squad, Rodri certainly isn’t suffering.
As usual, he tops the Premier League charts for completed passes, with 1,555, and touches (1823), but what might come as a surprise is his influence in the final third.
Rodri hits more passes into the penalty area (31) than any other City player, sits third in the Premier League for progressive passes, with 162, and only Phil Foden (74) and Julian Alvarez (74) have produced more shot-creating actions than Rodri’s 68 among City players.
John McGinn (Aston Villa)
Douglas Luiz has been more widely praised this season, but Aston Villa’s most invaluable player is club captain McGinn, whose drive and charisma through the middle represents the very best of Unai Emery’s tactics.
McGinn’s idiosyncratic playing style continues to confound opponents; when the Scotland captain sticks his backside out, nobody can get near him. That’s why he tops the Premier League charts among central midfielders for attempted take-ons, with 67, and successful take-ons (38).
He is also the sixth-most fouled player in the league (36) and sits joint-13th for progressive passes, with 114, and shot-creating actions (73), a testament to that furious and wriggling creativity.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
We are in the midst of Salah’s best-ever Premier League season. You might be of the opinion that nothing will ever match his 32 league goals in 2017/18, but statistically, Salah is at his peak.
He is hitting career highs in key passes (2.44 per 90), progressive passes (5.13 per 90), and through-balls (0.67 per 90).
This creative uptick is the result of a new outside-of-the-boot pass that Salah seems to have discovered this season. It is yet another beautiful piece of skill added to his repertoire.
Not that he needs it to get into this team. Salah is the joint-top goalscorer with 14 goals and joint-top for assists, with eight. If he hadn’t missed two penalties, he’d even be on course to break that 32-goal record set five years ago.
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
Erling Haaland might be level with Salah at the top of the goalscoring charts with 14, but Watkins’ all-round performances have been of a higher quality.
Watkins’ nine goals and eight assists mean he ranks third in the Premier League for total goal involvements – and joint-top for assists. Indeed, he is technically Villa’s most creative player, topping their rankings for key passes, with 30, and goal-creating actions (15).
There is little doubt Watkins has been the most complete centre-forward in the Premier League this season.
Son Heung-min (Spurs)
Spurs have been slightly over-performing this season when you look at their underlying metrics, thanks to Vicario’s shot-stopping, as highlighted above, and Son’s immaculate finishing.
No player has overperformed their xG more in the Premier League than Son (+4.9), helping him to 12 goals and five assists already this season, a rate that will see him achieve a new personal-best goal involvement return.
He appears to be enjoying the direct, transition-focused football of his new head coach and the space it affords him; Son has already completed more through-balls (10) than in any other single season in his career.
Honourable mentions
Erling Haaland (Man City)
As the joint-top scorer with 14 goals, despite only starting 15 matches, he could yet break his own record of 36 in a single campaign.
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
West Ham have improved considerably since Bowen was moved up front, and only four Premier League players have amassed more than his 13 goal contributions so far.
Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
The chief architect at Stamford Bridge, Palmer has become only the fifth player aged 21 and under to hit double figures for goal involvements in a Premier League season for Chelsea.
Bernardo Silva (Man City)
Already closing in on his best-ever return for Premier League goals and assists, Silva has filled the boots of the injured Kevin De Bruyne admirably.
Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
Nobody has scored a higher share of their side’s goals than the Bournemouth forward, whose 12 strikes account for 43 per cent of his team’s total.
