While March may be ultimately defined by Arsenal’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City, Mikel Arteta could at least take a sliver of comfort from his triumph in the Premier League’s Manager of the Month award.
Arteta oversaw three wins from three in March 2026, boasting the only perfect record of any manager in the division over the same period—although no one else also suffered a painful Wembley defeat.
Nevertheless, that individual accolade took the Gunners boss up to eight Manager of the Month awards, a tally only five of the best coaches in the competition’s history can top.
Record Premier League Manager of the Month Award Winners
| Rank | Manager(s) | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sir Alex Ferguson | 27 |
| 2. | Arsène Wenger | 15 |
| 3. | Pep Guardiola | 12 |
| 4. | David Moyes | 11 |
| 5. | Jürgen Klopp | 10 |
| T-6 | Mikel Arteta, Martin O’Neill, Harry Redknapp | 8 |
As with most Premier League-related records, Sir Alex Ferguson is in a league of his own. The 13-time top-flight champion greedily hoarded 27 Manager of the Month awards during his two decades in the competition. When Pep Guardiola, the most prolific active manager on the list, was presented with his rival’s lofty haul, he shouted: “How many?”
Guardiola admitted that the award “belongs” to Ferguson, although it’s unlikely to keep him up at night. The Manchester City boss fundamentally disagrees with its existence. “This is the easiest award,” he laughed. “Most points you do in a month is the Manager of the Month. So it’s simple.
“And the reason we won is not the manager. [It’s] the players, all the time.”
Arteta’s Arsenal players have helped him claim the award in eight different months across his near six years as a Premier League manager. It had been more than two years since he last claimed this particular gong after going the entirety of the 2024–25 campaign without recognition. Despite leading the league for so much of the current season, Arteta had been overlooked up until March.
2025–26 Premier League Managers of the Month Winners
| Month | Manager | Club |
|---|---|---|
| August | Arne Slot | Liverpool |
| September | Oliver Glasner | Crystal Palace |
| October | Ruben Amorim | Man Utd |
| November | Enzo Maresca | Chelsea |
| December | Unai Emery | Aston Villa |
| January | Michael Carrick | Man Utd |
| February | Pep Guardiola | Man City |
| March | Mikel Arteta | Arsenal |
The roll call of former winners is a lot more illustrious than this year’s triumphant coaches. By the time December rolled around, the previous two Managers of the Month had both left their clubs. The glory of Ruben Amorim’s October was soon forgotten. After winning all three Premier League matches heading into Halloween, the former Manchester United boss would only oversee three more triumphs across his next 11 matches before getting sacked.
Enzo Maresca parted ways with Chelsea just 19 days after being presented with the Premier League’s Manager of the Month award. The Italian boss collected 10 points from a possible 12 in November before he turned the spotlight on himself with a series of cryptic comments about his lack of influence with the club’s hierarchy.
It seems like Arne Slot’s Manager of the Month award for August took place in a different era, let alone this current season. Liverpool started the defense of their Premier League title with an ultimately unsustainable chaotic style which relied upon late winners in open thrillers. Slot has spent more time recently defending his position as Liverpool manager for next season.
Oliver Glasner seemed to have one foot out of the door at Crystal Palace for much of the campaign. After all the good will of the club’s unprecedented trophy lifts, September’s standout manager confirmed that he will in fact leave Selhurst Park at the end of his contract in June.
Arteta appears to be going nowhere in Arsenal’s continued quest for some accolades with a little more significance than the Manager of the Month award.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mikel Arteta Eyes Illustrious Company With Premier League Award Recognition.
