Defensive kings of 2025/26
Anderson earned a league-high 52 defensive-contribution points in 2025/26, while Raya kept 19 clean sheets and Dúbravka made 127 saves. The first season of defensive-contribution scoring, told through the players who farmed it.
Defensive contribution leaders
Defensive contributions became their own points source this season, scoring the tackles, blocks, interceptions and recoveries that used to go unrewarded. The table ranks by the points those actions earned, not the raw tally, and consistency beats volume. Anderson and Senesi share top spot on 52 from opposite profiles: Anderson on a table-high 306 recoveries, Senesi on 357 clearances, blocks and interceptions. Further down, it stops translating. André's 212 recoveries trail only Anderson's here, yet he finishes last of these ten on points, because what scores is clearing the per-match bar week after week, not piling up actions in a few games.
| Player | CBI | Tackles | Recoveries | DefCon pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1AndersonNFO · MID | 106 | 103 | 306 | 52 52 |
2SenesiBOU · DEF | 357 | 62 | 155 | 52 52 |
3TarkowskiEVE · DEF | 325 | 51 | 90 | 44 44 |
4GarnerEVE · MID | 154 | 119 | 185 | 40 40 |
5LacroixCRY · DEF | 310 | 60 | 96 | 40 40 |
6AndersenFUL · DEF | 284 | 45 | 114 | 40 40 |
7AmpaduLEE · MID | 151 | 81 | 184 | 38 38 |
8EstèveBUR · DEF | 290 | 44 | 114 | 38 38 |
9MavropanosWHU · DEF | 273 | 40 | 103 | 36 36 |
10AndréWOL · MID | 90 | 81 | 212 | 32 32 |
Clean-sheet kings
Clean sheets are the original defensive currency: a return for every defender and keeper whose side keeps the opposition off the scoresheet. Raya led outright with 19, but the eye-catcher is Gabriel, 18 from just 30 starts, the best rate of anyone near the top. And two of the top four are midfielders, Rice and Zubimendi, a sign of how far Arsenal's shutouts carried fantasy returns up the pitch.
| Player | Starts | Conceded | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
1RayaARS · GKP | 37 | 26 | 19 19 |
2GabrielARS · DEF | 30 | 20 | 18 18 |
3RiceARS · MID | 35 | 25 | 18 18 |
4ZubimendiARS · MID | 34 | 25 | 16 16 |
5SalibaARS · DEF | 30 | 20 | 15 15 |
6DonnarummaMCI · GKP | 34 | 29 | 15 15 |
7O'ReillyMCI · DEF | 29 | 25 | 14 14 |
8GuéhiMCI · DEF | 35 | 35 | 14 14 |
9CalafioriARS · DEF | 22 | 8 | 13 13 |
10J.TimberARS · DEF | 28 | 20 | 13 13 |
Shot-stoppers
Saves reward the keepers under fire, and no one was busier than Dúbravka, with 127 stops, miles clear of the pack. But volume tells its own story: he kept just four clean sheets, because a keeper only piles up saves when his defence keeps letting shots through. The 109-save trio behind him, Petrović, Kelleher and Roefs, paired their workload with ten-plus shutouts apiece.
| Player | Starts | Pens saved | Clean sheets | Saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1DúbravkaBUR | 35 | 0 | 4 | 127 127 |
2PetrovićBOU | 38 | 0 | 11 | 109 109 |
3KelleherBRE | 37 | 3 | 10 | 109 109 |
4RoefsSUN | 35 | 1 | 10 | 109 109 |
5VerbruggenBHA | 38 | 1 | 10 | 106 106 |
6HendersonCRY | 37 | 1 | 11 | 106 106 |
7PickfordEVE | 38 | 1 | 11 | 100 100 |
8SánchezCHE | 35 | 0 | 9 | 98 98 |
9LenoFUL | 38 | 0 | 9 | 98 98 |
10MartinezAVL | 32 | 1 | 7 | 95 95 |
Based on official Fantasy Premier League data. The defensive-contribution leaders are ranked by the points FPL's defensive-contribution bonus awarded: +2 in any match a defender records at least 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles combined, or a midfielder or forward records at least 12 of those actions plus ball recoveries, capped at one award per match. The clearances/blocks/interceptions, tackles, and recoveries columns are season totals shown for context. Clean sheets, goals conceded, saves, and penalty saves are season totals, and starts is the number of games the player started.