The 2025-26 Premier League season hit the midway point with Gameweek 19.
The gameweek was played across the final days of 2025 and the start of 2026. But it wasn’t a great one. There were 23 goals across the 10 games, but 21 of those came in the six matches on the final gameday of 2025. The New Year’s Day showing brought just two goals across four games — with three goalless draws.
Arsenal were the clear winners of the gameweek, though, extending their lead at the top of the table thanks to a win over Aston Villa. Newcastle United and Everton were the only other teams to win in Gameweek 19, with seven draws out of the 10 games.
There are just four players from those three teams in the Squawka Score Team of the Week, with Arsenal having two. Tottenham are the only other team to have more than one player, in what was a mixed gameweek.
The Squawka Score is our proprietary performance rating, combining multiple Opta stats into a single percentage. It benchmarks players against their positional peers, allowing quick comparisons. Learn more about how it works here: https://www.squawka.com/en/news/squawka-score-explained/
Read the Squawka Score 2025-26 Premier League Team of the Week for Gameweek 28 here.
GK: Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham)
- Squawka Score: 82%
Guglielmo Vicario was the standout goalkeeper in a week of clean sheets, shutting Brentford out in Tottenham Hotspur’s goalless draw. The Italy only had to make two saves, but in doing so he prevented 0.43 goals — more than doing his bit to protect the clean sheet. Vicario was busy in other ways, though, catching two crosses and making two punched clearances, while completing eight long passes.
Honourable mention: Jordan Pickford (80%)
Jordan Pickford made six saves to help Everton secure their win over Nottingham Forest, with two coming from shots inside the box.
RB: Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace)
- Squawka Score: 73%
Nathaniel Clyne provided the first Premier League assist of 2026, setting up Jean-Philippe Mateta for Crystal Palace’s opening goal in their draw with Fulham. It was the one big chance Clyne created but he did complete 50% of his open-play crosses and had four touches in the opposition box. At the other end of the pitch, Clyne completed four clearances, won possession three times in the defensive third and won two tackles.
Honourable mention: Joel Veltman (67%)
Joel Veltman scored for Brighton and Hove Albion in their draw with West Ham United, but he also won three tackles and made three interceptions retaining possession.
CB: Cristian Romero (Tottenham)
- Squawka Score: 73%
Cristian Romero was a rock at the back against Brentford, aside from one momentary lapse which may have seen him lucky to avoid red. The Argentine was part of a defence to face just four shots from inside the box, as he contributed with four possessions won in the defensive third. He also won possession twice in the middle third. Romero was key in catching Brentford out too, with four successful offside traps attributed to his name. Not to mention his 80% aerial duel success rate and six clearances.
Honourable mention: Wesley Fofana (70%)
Wesley Fofana was a busy man in Chelsea’s draw with Bournemouth, winning seven aerial duels and completing 12 clearances. He also made three interceptions retaining possession.
CB: Nathan Ake (Man City)
- Squawka Score: 71%
Nathan Ake did his part to help Manchester City keep their sheet clean against Sunderland. The Dutchman made a crucial last man tackle and won 75% of his ground duels, alongside winning possession three times in the defensive third. He completed six clearances, won two tackles and made two interceptions retaining possession. Ake was reliable on the ball too, boasting a retention rate of 91.57%.
Honourable mention: James Tarkowski (69%)
James Tarkowski made a whopping 13 clearances for Everton in Gameweek 19, alongside six aerial duels won and three shots blocked.
LB: Lewis Hall (Newcastle)
- Squawka Score: 70%
Lewis Hall put in a solid performance in Newcastle United’s win over Burnley, earning his spot as the best left-back of the week. And he did it without being directly involved in a goal. Hall did create one big chance and four passes into the final third, but this was all about his defensive display. Hall completed four clearances and made three interceptions retaining possession, alongside two tackles won. He also won possession twice in the defensive third.
Honourable mention: Tyrick Mitchell (69%)
Tyrick Mitchell made two interceptions retaining possession against Fulham, as well as winning three tackles. He also completed six clearances and won possession four times in the defensive third.
DM: James Garner (Everton)
- Squawka Score: 85%
James Garner was heavily involved in Everton’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest. And not just because he scored and provided an assist. Although that did help. Garner won two tackles at the base of Everton’s midfield as well as two interceptions retaining possession and four possessions won in the defensive third. He also won 100% of his aerial duels and 87.5% of his ground battles, alongside a retention rate of 90.38%.
Key stats vs Nottingham Forest:
| Stat | James Garner | Everton rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles won | 2 | =1st |
| Interceptions | 2 | =1st |
| Duels won | 8 | 2nd |
| Passes into final third | 9 | 2nd |
| Chances created | 3 | 1st |
Honourable mention: Rodrigo Bentancur (76%)
Rodrigo Bentancur made 11 ball recoveries for Tottenham in their draw with Brentford and two interceptions retaining possession.
DM: Vitaly Janelt (Brentford)
- Squawka Score: 76%
Vitaly Janelt was an impressive cog of the Brentford midfield in their draw with Tottenham, making three interceptions retaining possession. The German was very reliable on the ball, completing 94% of his open-play passes, with 18 accurate forward passes and a retention rate of 92.75%. On the defensive side of things, Janelt won six duels, made six ball recoveriez and won possession twice in the middle third.
Honourable mention: Curtis Jones (76%)
Curtis Jones won possession twice in the defensive third for Liverpool, and completed 88.89% of his passes into the final third.
CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
- Squawka Score: 80%
Martin Odegaard pulled the strings for Arsenal in their win over Aston Villa, with four successful passes into the penalty area — the most of any midfielder in Gameweek 19. The Norwegian also made nine penalty area entries and 47.92% of his total attempted passes went into the final third. Of course, Odegaard created one big chance and provided an intentional assist, alongside two shots on target himself.
Honourable mention: Bruno Guimaraes (76%)
Bruno Guimaraes scored for Newcastle in Gameweek 19, from two shots on target. He also created two big chances and won three tackles.
RW: Estevao (Chelsea)
- Squawka Score: 75%
Estevao was given a rare start for Chelsea against Bournemouth and he made it count. The Brazilian won the penalty, converted by Cole Palmer, and completed five take-ons, the most of any winger across the gameweek. Estevao also had one shot on target himself, 13 touches in the opposition box and completed both of his attempted open-play crosses.
Honourable mention: David Brooks (74%)
David Brooks scored for Bournemouth against Chelsea, while also creating one big chance and having eight touches in the opposition box.
ST: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
- Squawka Score: 67%
Ollie Watkins continued his mini scoring run with a goal against Arsenal, although it mattered for very little. The Englishman had five shots in total, posting 1.4 non-penalty xG, with five touches in the oposition box. He also won three aerial duels.
Honourable mention: Thierno Barry (66%)
Thierno Barry was another goalscorer in Gameweek 19, netting with his only shot for Everton against Nottingham Forest. It was a fine finish too, seeing his 0.35 xG rise to 0.8 non-penalty post-shot xG.
LW: Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
- Squawka Score: 83%
Leandro Trossard put in an excellent performance for Arsenal in their win over Aston Villa. The Belgian scored and provided an intentional assist, with three chances created — one of which was a big chance. He had two shots on target, recording 0.55 non-penalty post-shot Expected Goals, with five touches in the opposition box. Trossard also completed two crosses and completed 14 final third passes.
Honourable mention: Kevin (67%)
Kevin completed four take-ons for Fulham against Crystal Palace, while having three touches in the opposition box and completing 11 final third passes.