Arsenal's perfect start to the new Premier League season will almost certainly install Mikel Arteta as the odds-on favourite to claim the first Manager of the Month award of the campaign.
Victories over Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Bournemouth and Fulham mean the Gunners are currently leading the way at the top of the table and are the only side in the division with a 100 per cent winning record and they will be looking to keep the run going against Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
Should Arsenal end August by accumulating 15 points from a possible 15 then it wouldn't be a surprise if Arteta's work is acknowledged by the Premier League who by tradition are on course to announce the Manager of the Month shortlist in the next week before revealing the winner in early September.
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Whilst Arteta can take great pride if he is named Manager of the Month for August, he must avoid what happened to Portuguese tactician Nuno Espirito Santo who picked up the award just under a year ago after enjoying a flying start to life as Tottenham Hotspur head coach.
The Lilywhites were top of the table after three games with nine points and hadn't conceded a single goal despite playing Manchester City, Wolves and Watford. Although. much to the delight of Arsenal fans, it went downhill after Nuno was named Manager of the Month as his side went on to lose all three games in September - including a 3-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium.
Furthermore, similar happened to Thomas Tuchel after winning the award last October as his Chelsea side went on to claim one win from three games the following month and then struggled over the festive period which ultimately saw them slip out of contention for the Premier League title.
But Arteta just needs to look at his own experiences with the award after claiming it twice last season. Following a perfect September there were draws with Brighton and Crystal Palace before beating Aston Villa and Leicester. However, what happened after winning it in March may still haunt him to this very day.
As soon as he won the award the Gunners went on to lose three games in a row against Palace, Brighton and Southampton. Had the north London outfit won just one of those they very well could have been in the Champions League this season having missed out on a top-four finish by two points.
For Arsenal to maintain their impressive start to the season, Arteta can't afford for the Manager of the Month 'curse' to strike again if he claims the award as Arsenal face Manchester United, Everton and Brentford in September which proceeds a nightmare set of fixtures in October with clashes against Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester City.
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