Arsene Wenger and Olivier Giroud have won the Premier League manager and player of the month awards respectively for their consistency throughout March. Arsenal won all four of their Premier League games in March with victories over Everton, QPR, West Ham and Newcastle and this saw Wenger given the award on Good Friday morning. Wenger was awarded the prize ahead of fellow candidates Louis van Gaal (who masterminded victories in all of his games in March including wins over Tottenham and Liverpool), Ronald Koeman and Tim Sherwood.
Wenger told Sky Sports: "You just focus on the next game and it reminds you that you have done well in the last month, but you focus on the next one."
Arsenal are in fact on a six game winning streak in the league spanning back to mid-February and this run has propelled them into 3rd position in the Premier League just 1 point behind Man City. Central to his team’s improvement has been an improved defensive record which can be at least partially attributed to Koscielny’s return to fitness. However on Wenger’s part it is clear that he has instilled a more workman like approach and discipline in his players and they now seem to finally understand that both sides of the game are equally important.
Olivier Giroud scored an outstanding 5 goals in 4 Premier League Games over the course of last month and in doing so has prevented Harry Kane from becoming the first player to ever win three consecutive player of the month awards. Giroud told Sky Sports:
"I am in good form and it's nice to win this trophy and it will be nice in my living room. After the Champions League I was really pleased to score and bounce back and come back stronger."
Wenger also praised Giroud’s mental strength saying "Giroud is the symbol because in the first game against Monaco he got a lot of criticism and he responded to that with very strong performances - that shows quality and mental strength."
Wenger and Arsenal will now be hoping that they can avoid the curse of the manager of the month where teams’ form tend to go downhill starting with Saturday’s lunchtime clash against fellow top four hopefuls Liverpool.
Source: DSG
