The Premier League have announced a star-studded roll call of nominees for February’s player and manager of the month awards.
All of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City have some form of representative while Brentford have once again been recognized for another stellar month.
Despite the club’s collective form, Bees frontman Igor Thiago won’t have the chance to defend his January player of the month award, yet Michael Carrick is once again in the running for the managerial equivalent.
February 2026 Premier League Player of the Month Nominees
- Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal)
- Nico O’Reilly (Man City)
- Dango Ouattara (Brentford)
- Antoine Semenyo (Man City)
- Benjamin Šeško (Man Utd)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Dango Ouattara is flying the flag for Brentford. The summer recruit from Bournemouth chipped in with two goals and as many assists, including the winners against Aston Villa and Newcastle United.
Ouattara was also instrumental to Brentford’s 1–1 draw with Arsenal. Viktor Gyökeres notably failed to take a single shot in anger at the Gtech Community Stadium on that sodden night. However, the bulky Swede had been on target five days earlier, nabbing a second-half brace against Sunderland after coming off the bench.
Mikel Arteta dismissed the idea that Gyökeres had undergone any drastic changes, instead putting that double down to the particular game state. There was no excuse of tired limbs or minds when Gyökeres rattled in two more goals in February’s north London derby. Arteta had no qualms accepting that his first-choice forward had produced the best display of a debut campaign which has had its ups and downs.
Manchester City’s close chase of Arsenal has been propelled thanks largerly to the duo of Antoine Semenyo and Nico O’Reilly. Both players achieved the impressive feat of out-scoring Erling Haaland in February and also embody the tactical shift Pep Guardiola has undergone in recent weeks.
O’Reilly’s return to midfield has given City the dynamic, physical profile to deploy a diamond between a front two which has often comprised of Semenyo and Haaland.
Benjamin Šeško boasts three goals of his own, each of which directly earned Manchester United a positive result. Without the Slovenian in February, United would be five points worse off, dropping from third in the table to sixth.
It’s harder to put an exact number on Virgil van Dijk’s influence for Liverpool, but it was clear that he returned to some approaching his best form in February. Unfortunately for the Reds, he delivered a desperately unconvincing display to begin March.
Previous Winners
| Player | Club | Month |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Grealish | Everton | August |
| Erling Haaland | Man City | September |
| Bryan Mbeumo | Man Utd | October |
| Igor Thiago | Brentford | November |
| Dominic Calvert-Lewin | Leeds | December |
| Igor Thiago | Brentford | January |
February 2026 Premier League Manager of the Month Nominees
- Keith Andrews (Brentford)
- Michael Carrick (Man Utd)
- Pep Guardiola (Man City)
- Arne Slot (Liverpool)
This is Carrick’s crown to lose. United may have started March with a defeat, yet the Red Devils maintained their strong start to life under the retired midfielder last month. United collected 10 points from a possible 12 even if some of the performances were, to borrow Carrick’s own word, “stodgy.”
Were the interim hire to claim February’s gong, he would become the first manager since Ange Postecoglou in September and October 2023 to claim this particular award in back-to-back months. Whatever happened to him?
Keith Andrews has somehow failed to win any month award this season despite leading Brentford into a fight for European qualification after a summer exodus of their captain, goalkeeper, two top scorers and manager. February wasn’t the best month for the Bees—some questionable VAR calls helped them scrape four points against Burnley and Bournemouth—so this may not be his time.
Arne Slot has perhaps done well to get onto the nominees slip. Liverpool began the month with a loss to Manchester City, ended it with perhaps the least convincing 5–2 win on record in the competition and battled out scratchy 1–0 victories over Sunderland and Nottingham Forest in between.
Forest put a dampener on Guardiola’s start to March but they were the only team to collect four wins in February. Whether that will be enough for a trophy a little bit bigger than the Manager of the Month award will become clear in May.
Previous Winners
| Manager | Club | Month |
|---|---|---|
| Arne Slot | Liverpool | August |
| Oliver Glasner | Crystal Palace | September |
| Ruben Amorim | Man Utd | October |
| Enzo Maresca | Chelsea | November |
| Unai Emery | Aston Villa | December |
| Michael Carrick | Man Utd | January |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Premier League Player, Manager of the Month: Full List of February 2026 Nominees.
