My Premier League 2022/23 Team of the Season

As promised in the last piece, here is my choice for the Premier League Team of the Season for the 2022/2023 season. Obviously these are all subjective picks, but I also think that some of the positions are much easier to pick than others. Some big names will have to be left out, but that’s just how it has to go.

GOALKEEPER: Alisson Becker (Liverpool)

Liverpool did have a poor season by their own standards, that’s for sure. Some players still managed to stand out though, and none more than the Brazilian goalkeeper. He was the goalkeeper who prevented the most xG in the league (with 10.1 xG, 1 more than Fulham’s Bernd Leno), and constantly showed why he is the best keeper in the league, maybe even the world. He’s a quality shot stopper, dominant in the box and of course important to Liverpool’s build up play too. Nick Pope is probably the closest one, but I think Alisson has been the better keeper this season.

RIGHT BACK: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)

Probably one of the easiest picks in the team. Kieran Trippier is likely in most people’s teams, and with good reason. He’s been part of one of the best defences in the league, while also being an important contributor offensively. 7 assists from right back is a very good tally, and without looking at stats he also passes the eye test. It has helped that players like Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold has had poor or injury riddled seasons, but even then he’s had to compete with the likes of Kyle Walker or even an resurgent Aaron Wan-Bissaka, though he has played to few games to be considered for this spot.

CENTRE BACK: William Saliba (Arsenal)

Yes, he was injured for parts of the season, but in a way that almost works in his favour. Because how Arsenal looked when he was injured speaks wonders of how important he is for the team. He was impeccable for Arsenal in the first half of the season, and although they looked slightly more porous at the back after the World Cup break, he was still very very good. I also wanted to get John Stones in the team because he has been unbelievable for the past few months, but I feel like Saliba had a longer spell of good performances than Stones, even though Stones’ peak may have been higher this season.

CENTRE BACK: Sven Botman (Newcastle)

The second Newcastle player in the team (and spoiler; it won’t be the last). Sven Botman, as with Trippier, was part of one of the defences in the league, and was likely more imperative to the defence being as strong as it was. his partner Fabian Schär also had a very good season, but Botman was the better player in my opinion. Lisandro Martinez also had a very good shout of being in, but he was also unlucky with an injury late on in the season. A centreback partnership of Saliba and Botman is what I ended up with, though it feels unfair to not include a City player with how good Dias and Stones have been.

LEFT BACK: Pervis Estupinan (Brighton)

This was very close between Estupinan and Shaw, and I promise I’m not just a biased Liverpool-fan for choosing the Brighton man. I think Shaw has been very good for huge parts of the season, but for me Estupinan exceeded expectations for me more so than Luke Shaw. Zinchenko also looked really good at the start of the season, but fell off a bit towards the end. With how good of a season Brighton had, it also would’ve felt wrong not to include any of their players, and therefore I landed on Estupinan.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD: Rodri (Manchester City)

Also one of the easiest positions to pick for me, Rodri just has to be included in a team of the season. Casemiro had a good shout too, but with all the suspensions he picked up it made it easy for me to pick Rodri. He’s quite possibly the best defensive midfielder in the world at the moment, and he’s what makes City’s midfield tick. There’s such a big difference when he doesn’t play (especially in the big games), and it allows their attacking players to produce their magic.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal)

Also quite an easy pick. Though most people would say Saka, but I think Martin Ødegaard was Arsenal’s best player this season. 15 goals from midfield is seriously impressive, add to that 7 assists as well as being incredibly important to their attack even without looking at the output. Obviously I will try my best to slide any Norwegian player in the team, but this one I think is thoroughly justified.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle)

I’m already screaming at myself for not putting Kevin de Bruyne in this team, because he’s probably better than all of the players in this midfield. I’m not sure if he’s had a better season than Bruno Guimaraes though, even if it’s really close. I flip-flopped a lot between the two of them, but Guimaraes has been instrumental to Newcastle ending up in the top 4, while Manchester City likely could’ve won the league without Kevin de Bruyne. I wouldn’t mind anyone having a midfield of Ødegaard-Rodri-de Bruyne though, but I think the first two are undeniable.

RIGHT WING: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Yes yes, I can already hear it, “biased Liverpool fan”. It might be a combination of Liverpool- and recency bias, but I think Mohamed Salah has been better than Bukayo Saka, only just though. I’m of the opinion that what Salah does season after season is being criminally underrated because it’s ‘just the norm’ now. He put up both more goals and assists than Saka did, while playing for a worse team. I don’t think there’s a huge gap between them, but I think Salah’s season has gone under the radar because he’s just done what he always does, while Saka has taken his game up a level.

STRIKER: Erling Braut Haaland (Manchester City)

36 goals in 35 games, need I say more?

LEFT WINGER: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

While the striker position obviously belongs to Erling Braut Haaland, I feel bad for Harry Kane. If this was 3 forwards instead of a RW, ST and LW, Kane would’ve been in without a doubt, but I’m also trying to play by the rules here. Though I’m maybe not as impressed by Rashford’s season as a whole, that patch right after the world cup was pretty incredible from him. It felt like he scored in basically every game for 3 months, but that first half of the season doesn’t do him any favours. Gabriel Martinelli can maybe feel snubbed, but I think the level Rashford played at during that period (which basically secured Manchester United top 4), was enough to get him a place in the team.