Arsenal, Man City and Man Utd players headline stunning Premier League resurgence stories of 2025/26
This season has delivered quite a surprise in the Premier League, with unexpected stars from Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham all emerging as part of a remarkable group of six players enjoying a sudden resurgence.
It’s the kind of turnaround few saw coming, proving once again that football always finds a way to shock us.
Personally, I love seeing players bounce back like this, it reminds you how unpredictable form and confidence can be in this league.
Richarlison (Striker)
Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Matthijs de Ligt’s equaliser against Manchester United during stoppage time over the weekend made the Spurs striker appear incredibly “daft,” but it was another game where the 28-year-old reaffirmed his importance to the north London team.
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After missing out on a summer transfer, it appeared as though he would be Tottenham’s fourth-choice striker behind Dominic Solanke, Randal Kolo Muani, and Mathys Tel.
However, he has been perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Thomas Frank’s arrival as he has overcome past struggles both on and off the pitch to shine this season.
Richarlison has made a fantastic effort this season, scoring four goals and providing two assists in 11 Premier League games.
Although his abrupt recovery to form means he will have far more alluring alternatives in January than he had in the summer, he is still strongly connected to a potential departure prior to transfer.
Matheus Nunes (Right Back)
Team: Manchester City
It appeared to be a puzzling decision for Man City to pay £53 million to acquire Nunes from Wolves during the 2023 summer transfer window.
Rodri, who won the Ballon d’Or for his outstanding play for both club and country that season, was already a member of Pep Guardiola’s team, so it was uncertain where Nunes would fit in.
During his first 18 months at the Etihad, he was deployed in a variety of positions and was essentially a bit-part player.
Nunes found a home at right-back towards the close of the previous season thanks to City’s well-known innovator in the dugout; there were undoubtedly some teething problems with this experiment, but he has made this position his own this season.
Guardiola believes he may have the “best” right-back in the world at his disposal after Nunes’ most recent outstanding performance in Man City’s decisive victory over Liverpool over the weekend.
The fact that this comment has been taken seriously indicates how effectively he has been performing, even though this embellishment is mostly a great example of man-management.
Leandro Trossard (Left Winger)
Team: Arsenal
With the exception of Bukayo Saka, who severely failed the previous season as Arsenal’s over-reliance on the England international and set pieces weakened their title drive, Trossard was one of the attackers.
This sparked rumours that Trossard would move in the summer, with Mikel Arteta allegedly advocating for the Belgium international to depart and be replaced by other players.
Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, and Eberechi Eze were all signed by Arsenal in an attempt to restructure their assault, but Trossard has remained, and the boost from the recent additions has made the 30-year-old perform better.
This season, Saka’s comeback has filled the hole created by Arsenal’s recent injuries. Last season, Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli failed to step up to share the attacking load with Saka.
With three goals in his three games for Arsenal this month, the 30-year-old is undoubtedly doing enough to secure a new long-term contract, with negotiations allegedly in progress.
Emiliano Buendia (Attacking Midfielder)
Team: Aston Villa
Buendia “nearly quit” the Premier League team this summer, giving the impression that his time at Aston Villa was almost ended.
After moving to Aston Villa for £38 million in 2021, Buendia struggled to attain the high levels he had at Norwich City in his first two seasons. He also missed the entire 2023–2024 season due to an ACL injury.
The sophisticated midfielder was slightly overlooked as Unai Emery’s team qualified for the Champions League, and he hasn’t had enough games to gain momentum and eventually show is worth himself at Villa Park until recently.
As he approached the last year of his Aston Villa contract, a summer transfer to Leeds United appeared inevitable, but this failed agreement turned out to be a blessing in disguise; after Emery offered him a lifeline, he seized the chance.
Buendia has been a revelation for Aston Villa as he has helped them soar up the standings; Emery looked to him as a possible left-field solution to their early-season toothlessness in attack.
In the weekend’s 4-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth, he scored his fifth goal in nine Premier League appearances with a spectacular free kick. It is now very likely that he will sign a new contract after the summer.
Robert Sanchez: (Goalkeeper)
Team: Chelsea
It has long been bemoaned that Chelsea hasn’t signed a top-tier custodian. However, Sanchez’s performances at the Club World Cup in the summer showed a noticeable improvement, and the 27-year-old has carried that form into this season, thus this position has been justified in recent months.
In order to win the Premier League and/or Champions League in the next years, Chelsea might benefit from adding several centre backs and a striker, but they still need to improve their goalkeeping in the long run.
But for the time being, Sanchez’s significantly better performances have made sure that the Chelsea custodian hasn’t been used as a scapegoat when Enzo Maresca’s team has failed, with problems at other positions needing to be fixed sooner.
Casemiro (Defensive Midfielder)
Team: Manchester United
Even though Jamie Carragher’s verdict on Casemiro in May 2024 was slightly dramatised for television, it was hard to disagree with the sentiment at the moment. In his first season, Casemiro was generally rather good for Manchester United.
However, towards the conclusion of the season, he was exposed while filling in as a centre-back, and he continued to deteriorate as the Premier League heavyweights finished embarrassingly in 15th place under Ruben Amorim.
Since INEOS was also not a fan of the Brazil international, it was anticipated that this would result in a transfer to the Saudi Pro League or Major League Soccer (MLS).
However, he kept Amorim’s support and has thoroughly returned the head coach’s faith at the beginning of this season.
“As a football player, I constantly recall the saying, ‘leave the football before the football leaves you,’ even after I retired. He needs to stop playing football at this level and move on because it has left him at the top.
Casemiro has once again established himself as one of United’s most crucial players by bravely persevering and refusing to believe that his time in a top league is finished.
Man Utd are much weaker when Casemiro isn’t playing, thus this is a really amazing turnaround.
With a possible £100 million move more likely to be postponed until the summer, he has lessened the club’s need to sign a new No. 6 to be his long-term replacement in the winter.
