Premier League to announce Mikel Arteta & Bukayo Saka awards

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The Premier League will announce Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Bukayo Saka as Manager/Player of the Month March 2023 tomorrow.

Arteta was selected as one of the four nominees for the Premier League Manager of the Month award, along with Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, Brighton & Hove Albion coach Roberto De Zerbi and Aston Villa coach Unai Emery.

The selected have been excellent with their sides throughout the month of March, avoiding defeat in all the games they played.

But the Arsenal boss has a perfect record this month, winning all four matches the Gunners have played.

 

Arsenal started the month with a resounding 4-0 victory over Everton at the Emirates. The league leaders also came from two goals down to snatch a late winner against Bournemouth before dispatching Fulham 3-0 and ending the month with another London derby victory over Crystal Palace.

Fellow nominees, Guardiola and Manchester City only played this month, winning both matches while De Zerbi guided the impressive Seagulls to seven points from a possible nine, including a 1-0 win over bitter M23 rivals Crystal Palace.

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Former Arsenal coach Emery led his side to two wins and a draw in March. Crystal Palace and Bournemouth were both seen off at Villa Park while a trip to West Ham yielded a point after Ollie Watkins’ early goal.

Arteta has won the award four times this season (August, November/December and January) and is expected to make it five with two months remaining until the end of the season.

In the players category, Arsenal wingers Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard were both nominated alongside Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah,  Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister and Tyrone Mings of Aston Villa.

But the two Arsenal stars stood out throughout the month. Saka started with a goal and assist in the 4-0 victory over Everton, before ending the month with three goal involvements against Crystal Palace to become the youngest Arsenal player to reach double figures for goals and assists in a season.

Trossard recorded five assists, three more than any other player in March. Three of his assists came in the first against Fulham at the Craven Cottage, and also set up goals against Everton and Crystal Palace.

Only Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard who won the prize in November/December and Saka and Trossard are hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Norwegian.

Arsenal are currently leading the Premier League table with eight points over Manchester City with just 10 games remaining and are big favourites to lift the title this season.

They will face Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, April 1, 2023.