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Cristiano Ronaldo misses out on Premier League Player of the Season nomination

Cristiano Ronaldo misses out on PL Player of the Season nomination
© Reuters
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo is not named as one of the eight nominees for the 2021-22 Premier League Player of the Season award.

Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka has been named as one of eight nominees for the 2021-22 Premier League Player of the Season award, but Cristiano Ronaldo has not made the cut.

Saka has broken the 10-goal barrier in the top flight this term with 11 goals and six assists in 36 appearances for Mikel Arteta's Champions League-chasing side.

The 20-year-old's Arsenal remain one point clear of Tottenham Hotspur in fourth place in the Premier League table despite Thursday's 3-0 North London derby defeat, and the England international is facing stiff competition for the individual accolade.

Saka is the only Arsenal player to have been nominated for the Player of the Season award, but there is no sign of Manchester United talisman Ronaldo, who was recently crowned April's Player of the Month.

The 37-year-old has found the back of the net 18 times in the top flight this season but is absent from the list alongside the rest of his Man United teammates following their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring for Arsenal in March 2022© Reuters

Across North London, Golden-boot chasing Son Heung-min has also been nominated, with the South Korea international scoring his 21st non-penalty goal of the league season in the 3-0 win over Arsenal in midweek.

Son has also contributed seven assists and sits in second place in the top scorer charts, but his teammate and prolific attacking partner Harry Kane misses out on a nomination.

Manchester City boast two representatives in the forms of Joao Cancelo and Kevin De Bruyne, with the former directly contributing to eight goals this season (one goal and seven assists) while also ranking highest in passes in the entire division.

Meanwhile, De Bruyne's four-goal haul against Wolverhampton Wanderers in midweek has taken him up to 15 strikes for the season for the reigning champions, as well as setting up his teammates seven times.

The Belgian was named PL Player of the Season in 2019-20 and is now in the running to become only the fourth man to win more than one award in the category - following in Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Nemanja Vidic's footsteps.

Southampton's James Ward-Prowse celebrates scoring their second goal on March 2, 2022© Reuters

Second-placed Liverpool are also represented by two players, with current top scorer Mohamed Salah still leading the Golden Boot charge with 22 strikes and 13 assists, even if his contributions have somewhat dipped over the past few weeks.

Further back, Trent Alexander-Arnold's 12 assists in league action this season sees him sit second only to Salah in that regard, and the England international has also contributed to 17 clean sheets for Jurgen Klopp's side.

Elsewhere, West Ham United attacker Jarrod Bowen is also up for the award after hitting double figures in both goals and assists for the top-six chasing Hammers this term - only Paulo Di Canio has previously done so for the London club.

Finally, Southampton skipper James Ward-Prowse and his dead ball prowess have come to the fore for the Saints this term, and the England international has registered nine goals and five assists this term, with four of those strikes coming from free kicks.

2021-22 PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE SEASON NOMINATIONS:

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)

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Written by
Ben Knapton

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3Arsenal1585229151429
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6Aston Villa157442323025
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