Premier League 2025/26 Squad Insights: Arsenal to Tottenham

The Premier League’s latest squad lists don’t come with fireworks or fanfare, but they do tell you exactly where the power lies and who clubs are prepared to build around as the 2025/26 season looms.

This is the moment when strategy becomes visible in black and white.

Arsenal double down on their core

Arsenal’s retained list reads like a statement of intent. The spine that has carried them back into contention remains untouched: Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, William Saliba and Bukayo Saka are all locked in, with David Raya continuing in goal.

Behind them, the club has surrounded that core with technical security and depth. Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli stay on to keep the attacking rotations flexible, while Viktor Gyökeres is in place as the penalty-box focal point Arsenal have long sought. At the base, Christian Norgaard and Martín Zubimendi offer the kind of control that turns tight games.

There’s also a clear pathway for youth. Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Charles Sagoe Jr are retained, and academy names such as Gabriel Sebastian Arteta Bernal and Abraham Owusu-Gyasi remain in the system. Arsenal are not just protecting their present; they’re ring‑fencing their future.

Manchester City refresh without blinking

Manchester City’s list looks exactly as you’d expect from a serial champion: ruthless, deep, and loaded with talent.

Erling Haaland stays as the league’s most terrifying finisher, flanked by the craft and incision of Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish. Behind them, Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji form a defensive unit that can pass as well as it can defend.

There is a quiet evolution in midfield. Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Tijjani Reijnders are all retained, with Sávio and Claudio Echeverri adding fresh creativity and unpredictability. Rayan Ait‑Nouri and Rico Lewis keep the full-back positions tactically flexible.

The volume of young names – from Joel Ndala and Divine Mukasa to Harrison Miles and Nico O’Reilly – underlines City’s intention to keep feeding the first team from within, even as they operate at the very top of the market.

Manchester United hold their rebuild pieces

Across town, Manchester United’s list is all about protecting the building blocks of a long-term reset.

Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez remain central to the project. Around them, United have locked in a new-look spine: Benjamin Sesko and Joshua Zirkzee in attack, Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte in midfield, Matthijs de Ligt at the back with Harry Maguire still in the group, and Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir in goal.

The volume of retained youngsters is striking. Shea Lacey, Amir Ibragimov, Gabriele Biancheri and Ethan Wheatley all stay in the system, along with a cluster of scholars such as Neithan Dylan Benoliel Monteiro Barbosa and Dante Jeevan Jamal Plunkett. United are clearly betting that their next step forward will be powered from Carrington as much as from the transfer market.

Liverpool stack firepower and promise

Liverpool’s retained list crackles with attacking threat and fresh ideas.

Florian Wirtz, Federico Chiesa, Cody Gakpo, Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai all remain, giving the club one of the most varied creative departments in Europe. Alexander Isak stays as a marquee centre-forward option, with Stefan Bajcetic and Alexis Mac Allister offering technical balance in midfield.

At the back, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Kostas Tsimikas are retained, and Alisson Becker continues as the standard-setter in goal. Giorgi Mamardashvili’s presence adds heavyweight competition between the posts.

Below that, names such as Trey Nyoni, Ben Doak’s equivalent in style in Jayden Danns, and Keyrol Figueroa on an offer, show Liverpool are intent on keeping the production line moving. The club has clearly decided its next era will be defined by intelligent recruitment and aggressive development, not just big fees.

Chelsea commit to their vast project

Chelsea’s list, as ever, is long, lavish and loaded with potential.

Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia all stay to anchor midfield, with Cole Palmer the creative heartbeat in the final third. Mykhailo Mudryk, Jamie Bynoe‑Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho bring raw pace and directness, while Nicolas Jackson and David Datro Fofana remain as centre-forward options.

At the back, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto are all retained, and Filip Jorgensen and Gabriel Slonina strengthen the goalkeeping department. The inclusion of teenage talents like Estevao Willian, Kendry Paez and Marc Guiu underlines how aggressively Chelsea continue to stockpile high‑ceiling prospects.

The scholar list – featuring the likes of Jeremiah Berkeley‑Agyepong and Jashayde Greenwood – confirms that Cobham will stay at the heart of the club’s identity, even as the first-team squad continues to evolve at pace.

Tottenham keep their new core intact

Tottenham’s retained group feels settled, and that’s not a word often associated with the club.

James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr remain the heartbeat of midfield. Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven stay together at centre-back, with Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie continuing as the aggressive full-backs that drive Ange Postecoglou’s style.

Up front, Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski and Mohammed Kudus give Spurs a blend of power, craft and chaos. Dane Scarlett and Mathys Tel add youthful edge to the forward line, while Dominic Solanke-Mitchell’s presence points to a desire for more penalty-box presence.

The club also keeps a strong grip on its academy talent, with the likes of Alfie Devine, Jamie Donley and Rio Kyerematen retained. Spurs look committed to continuity – and to attacking football – as they chase a return to the Champions League.

Newcastle and West Ham lock in ambition

Newcastle United’s list screams stability with ambition. Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman, Sandro Tonali and Nick Pope remain the backbone, while Harvey Barnes, Anthony Elanga, Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade keep the attacking options varied. The retention of young midfielder Lewis Miley and his brother Mason among the scholars highlights the club’s faith in its emerging core.

West Ham United, meanwhile, have quietly assembled one of the most intriguing mixes in the league. Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and James Ward‑Prowse stay on, but they’re now joined in attack by Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville. At the back, Maximilian Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos remain, with Edson Alvarez protecting them. It’s a group built to be awkward, physical and effective.

Established cores across the division

Across the rest of the league, the retained lists show clubs digging in around their most reliable performers.

• Aston Villa keep Ollie Watkins, John McGinn, Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans, while adding depth through Donyell Malen and Victor Nilsson Lindelof.
• Brighton & Hove Albion stay true to type, holding on to Evan Ferguson, Kaoru Mitoma, Pascal Gross and a raft of high-upside talents like Yankuba Minteh, Jeremy Sarmiento and Georginio Rutter.
• Brentford retain the core that has made them so awkward to face: Ethan Pinnock, Rico Henry, Mathias Jensen, Vitaly Janelt and Keane Lewis‑Potter, with Caoimhin Kelleher and Hakon Valdimarsson in goal.
• Crystal Palace keep Eberechi Eze, Brennan Johnson, Jean‑Philippe Mateta and Jefferson Lerma, with Yeremy Pino adding flair in wide areas.
• Fulham hold on to Bernd Leno, Antonee Robinson, Sander Berge, Calvin Bassey, Emile Smith Rowe and Harry Wilson, maintaining a solid Premier League core.
• Everton protect Jarrad Branthwaite, Jordan Pickford, Dwight McNeil, James Garner and new midfield addition Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall, with Iliman Ndiaye and Norberto Gomes Betuncal offering threat higher up.
• Leeds United, back in the big time, keep Dominic Calvert‑Lewin, Jack Harrison, Joel Piroe, Wilfried Gnonto and Ethan Ampadu, with a robust supporting cast built to survive and compete.
• Nottingham Forest hold on to Morgan Gibbs‑White, Callum Hudson‑Odoi, Taiwo Awoniyi, Murillo and Ibrahim Sangare, while adding depth with Arnaud Kalimuendo and Dan Ndoye.
• Wolverhampton Wanderers continue with Hwang Hee‑Chan, Sasa Kalajdzic, Jean‑Ricner Bellegarde and Jose Sa, supported by a broad group of young and mid‑career options.

At the other end of the table, clubs like AFC Bournemouth, Burnley, Sunderland and others keep faith with their key men – Dominic Solanke, Lyle Foster, Brian Brobbey, Enzo Le Fée – while wrapping their squads in layers of academy prospects and carefully chosen additions.

The lists themselves are dry. The implications are anything but.

These are the squads that will decide titles, European places and relegation battles. Contracts tell you who clubs truly believe in. The question now is simple: whose faith will be rewarded when the season starts to bite?