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LONDON. – Mikel Arteta has been named the English Premier League football’s manager of the month for March after taking Arsenal into the driving seat for the fourth and final Champions League spot.
Arsenal, who are three points clear of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in fourth with a game in hand, won three and lost one of their March fixtures.
Impressive wins away over Watford at the beginning of the month and Aston Villa at the end were split by a convincing win at the Emirates over Leicester City and a defeat at home to title chasing Liverpool. Arsenal scored six goals across the month, conceding four. Speaking after the announcement of his second such award this season, Arteta said that he was proud to have won it and credited the other staff members at the club for the success.
‘‘It is a privilege to win it with the managers and with the level we have in this league,’’ he said.
‘‘I want to thank everybody at the club for the support that they give and their contribution because it is something that is a consequence of winning football matches that everybody is giving their best to do.’’
Meanwhile, Roy Keane has warned Arteta that Arsenal’s progress this season will mean little if Tottenham or Manchester United beat the Gunners to a top-four finish in the English Premier League. Arteta’s side have recovered from a dismal start to the campaign to emerge as the favourites to finish fourth behind title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool and third-placed Chelsea.
Arsenal sit three points above Tottenham and United and have a game in hand over both of their top-four rivals ahead of their first match back following the international break, a trip to south London to face Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Former Manchester United captain Keane has been impressed by Arsenal’s development this season but says their campaign will still be viewed as a ‘’disappointment’’ if they drop out of the Champions League places.
‘’The next month is going to be vital for Arsenal,’’ Keane said on Sky Bet’s Overlap show.
‘’The criticism early in the season, they probably didn’t deserve that, but if they finish fifth or sixth, there will still probably be disappointment for Arsenal.
‘’That’s the reality. This is the big test for the team over the next two months. For all the plaudits for the last few months, this is crunch time now. Come the end of the season, that’s when you really judge teams.”. – Mailonline
Online Reporter