Guardiola, Arteta lead EPL Manager of the Season nominees
The Premier League have unveiled their Manager of the Season nominees with Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta the leading names alongside Roberto de Zerbi and Eddie Howe – but Erik ten Hag is a notable omission.
Six managers have been put up for the prestigious award after an entertaining domestic season that saw a handful of clubs surpass expectations and challenge some of the league’s elite clubs.
Newcastle boss Howe will be seen as a strong contender for the gong with the Magpies in the top four for much of the season and hoping to secure a famous Champions League spot in the next three games.
And with Brighton currently in sixth place and on course to secure a Europa League spot ahead of Tottenham, manager Roberto De Zerbi has also been recognised for his incredible work at the AMEX.
Not far behind the Seagulls are Aston Villa in eighth place under Unai Emery – who has also been nominated after transforming the team at Villa Park. The Villans looked in serious danger of being relegated before the Spaniard took over and they are now battling for a place in Europe.
There’s also a place for Marco Silva, whose Fulham side are on course for a top half finish in their first season back in the Premier League.
With Guardiola’s City side on course for their third straight title and widely seen as one of the best teams to grace the Premier League, the Spaniard will be one of the favourites for the award.
As will be Arteta – whose Arsenal team fought City for so long and topped the table for 93 per cent of the campaign before falling away towards the end. He still deserves credit for securing second place having finished fifth last year.
But some fans will be left scratching their heads after Ten Hag and Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neill were left out.
Ten Hag had a rough start in his first season at Old Trafford as he lost his first two games 2-1 at home to Brighton and 4-0 away at Brentford.
But he galvanised his players and steadily created a positive team culture that saw them playing an exciting, attacking style.
He released misfit Cristiano Ronaldo and got performances out of Marcus Rashford before leading United into the top four – where they are hoping to stay if they can hold off a late challenge from Liverpool.
And fans also questioned O’Neil’s absence having saved Bournemouth from relegation despite looking doomed when he took over from Scott Parker after just four games in August.
That had come off the back of a 9-0 hammering by Liverpool and with few signings coming through the door in the summer it was hard to see where the Cherries would pick up points.
But O’Neill rallied his players, who have earned 39 points to date – with their survival mathematically confirmed after Everton’s 3-0 loss to City last weekend.
