Arsenal have completed a double Premier League Player and Manager of the Month haul for the second time this season, with Bukayo Saka and Mikel Arteta taking home March's awards.
After recovering from a February lull, the Gunners entered the international break on the back of four successive Premier League wins in March to surge eight points clear of Manchester City at the top of the pile.
Firstly demolishing relegation-threatened Everton 4-0, Arsenal came from two goals down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 in the most dramatic of circumstances, with Reiss Nelson bagging a 97th-minute winner.
The Gunners subsequently ran out comfortable 3-0 winners away to Fulham before a 4-1 thumping of managerless Crystal Palace, moving them onto 69 points from 28 games in the current campaign.
As a result, Arteta has been named the Premier League's Manager of the Month for the fourth time this season, having also taken home the honour in August, November/December and January.
The 41-year-old beat Pep Guardiola, Unai Emery and Roberto De Zerbi to the award, which is his sixth overall after also claiming the trophy in September 2021 and March 2022.
Arteta is now one away from matching Jurgen Klopp's record of five Manager of the Month awards in one season, which the German achieved in 2019-20, and Saka shared his manager's success with the Player of the Month prize.
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The England international came up with three goals and two assists during Arsenal's four games in March, firstly scoring and setting up Gabriel Martinelli's strike in the four-goal thumping of Everton.
Saka did not directly contribute towards any goals in the wins over Bournemouth and Fulham, but he had a direct hand in three of the Gunners' four strikes at home to Crystal Palace two weekends ago.
After crossing for Martinelli to open the scoring, Saka curled home into the bottom corner before rounding off the scoring with a sweetly-struck first-time finish into the bottom corner from Kieran Tierney's cross.
Saka's man-of-the-match showing against Palace saw him become the first player in the current Premier League season to reach double figures in goals and assists, and his contributions have been recognised with a first-ever Player of the Month award.
Saka beat fellow Gunner Leandro Trossard to March's accolade, while Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Brighton & Hove Albion's Alexis Mac Allister and Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings were also nominated.
Arsenal now boast two of this season's Premier League Player of the Month winners, with Martin Odegaard scooping the prize for November/December, and an Englishman has now won the honour for the past three cycles after Marcus Rashford was named January and February's Player of the Month.
Saka will be expected to start for Arsenal when the Gunners return to action at home to Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, by which time their lead at the top may have been cut down to five points if Manchester City - who have a game in hand - overcome Liverpool at lunchtime.
Ben Knapton
