The Premier League’s nominees for the EA SPORTS January Player of the Month award are in and it’s an eight-man shortlist made up of: Craig Dawson, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernd Leno, James Maddison, Matheus Pereira, Bukayo Saka and John Stones.
As for the Barclays Manager of the Month shortlist, Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola, David Moyes and Graham Potter are in the running.
Here at Park Life Sport we’ve taken a closer look at some of the nominations and how they fared in January.
John Stones & Ilkay Gundogan & Pep Guardiola
Stones played was a key cog in the well oiled machine that is Manchester City during January, with the centre-back scoring twice in the 4-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Manchester City conceded just one goal, winning all six of their Premier League fixtures last month, with Stones forming a sturdy partnership in defence with Portuguese international Ruben Dias.
Pep Guardiola’s men have been in rich vein of form, soaring to the top of the league table and Stones’ teammate Ilkay Gundogan has also earned a nomination for Player of the Month following his impressive goal scoring antics.
Gundogan featured in all six Premier League victories, scoring five times, with a brace at West Brom particularly standing out.
City kept four clean sheets in January and now find themselves three points clear at the summit of the table ahead of a massive game against Liverpool on Sunday.
Bukayo Saka, Bernd Leno & Mikel Arteta
Arsenal youngster Saka has been nominated for the award alongside his teammate Bernd Leno.
19-year-old Saka has risen to prominence this season and scored in each of Arsenal’s three victories in January as well as grabbing one assist.
As for Leno, the shot-stopper conceded just one goal during the month and made a string of important saves.
Mikel Arteta has turned around Arsenal’s fortunes massively since the turn of the year, with his side playing pleasing football and coming into form.
Wins against West Brom, Newcastle and Southampton, alongside draws with Crystal Palace and Manchester United represented a good month of results for Arteta’s side in January.
However, after a disappointing defeat to Wolves on Tuesday night, Arsenal will be looking forward to returning to winning ways on Saturday at Aston Villa.
James Maddison & Jack Grealish
England internationals Jack Grealish and James Maddison have continued to contribute goals and assists consistently throughout January and both find their names on the Player of the Month shortlist.
It’s the third time that the Aston Villa skipper has been up for the award this season and the 25-year-old produced three assists and a goal during January, a fine month in what has been an impressive season for Grealish.
As for Maddison, the midfielder scored three goals and got one assist in January, as he helped Leicester City to three successive wins over Newcastle, Southampton and Chelsea.
David Moyes & Craig Dawson
Moyes led West Ham to 12 points out of a possible 15 to secure his third nomination for the award in a row, having been shortlisted in November and December.
The Hammers won at Everton on New Year’s Day, before reigning victorious over Burnley, West Brom and Crystal Palace to make it four wins in a row.
These results took West Ham up to fifth in the Premier League, with Moyes previously winning ten Premier League Manager of the Month awards throughout his career.
Defender Craig Dawson has also been nominated for Player of the Month award.
The 30-year-old only made his debut for West Ham on 29 December, but has settled in immediately into Moyes’ side.
The Watford loanee has formed a partnership with Angelo Ogbonna and has helped West Ham keep four clean sheets in his first four appearances across all competitions, as well as scoring against Crystal Palace.
You can vote for your Player of the Month down below!
