Mikel Arteta Chases Elite Status With Premier League Award Glory

While March may ultimately be remembered for Arsenal's Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City, Mikel Arteta could at least find some consolation in winning the Premier League's Manager of the Month honor.

Arteta guided his side to three victories from three outings in March 2026, posting the only flawless record among all managers in the division during that stretch—though no other manager also endured a heartbreaking Wembley loss.

Regardless, that personal honor brought the Gunners' head coach to eight Manager of the Month awards, a total that only five of the greatest managers in the competition's history have surpassed.

Record Premier League Manager of the Month Award Winners

As with most Premier League records, Sir Alex Ferguson stands in a class entirely his own. The 13-time top-flight title winner amassed an extraordinary 27 Manager of the Month awards across his two decades in the competition. When Pep Guardiola, the most active manager on the list, was confronted with his rival's remarkable total, he exclaimed: "How many?"

Guardiola conceded that the award "belongs" to Ferguson, though it's unlikely to cause him any sleepless nights. The Manchester City manager fundamentally questions the award's merit. "This is the easiest award," he said with a laugh. "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 squad has helped him claim the honor across eight separate months during his nearly six years as a Premier League manager. It had been over two years since he last received this particular recognition, having gone through the entire 2024–25 season without being acknowledged. Despite his side sitting at the top of the table for much of the current campaign, Arteta had been passed over until March.

2025–26 Premier League Managers of the Month Winners

The list of past winners is considerably more distinguished than this season's honorees. By the time December arrived, the two preceding Managers of the Month had already departed their respective clubs. The shine of Ruben Amorim's October triumph quickly faded. After winning all three Premier League fixtures heading into Halloween, the former Manchester United boss managed just three more wins from his next 11 matches before being dismissed.

Enzo Maresca parted company with Chelsea a mere 19 days after collecting the Premier League's Manager of the Month award. The Italian collected 10 points from a possible 12 in November before drawing unwanted attention to himself through a string of ambiguous remarks regarding his limited influence over the club's decision-makers.

Arne Slot's Manager of the Month award for August feels like it belongs to a completely different era, let alone the current season. Liverpool began the defense of their Premier League crown with an ultimately unsustainable high-risk approach that depended on late winners in high-scoring encounters. Slot has more recently been occupied with defending his future as Liverpool manager heading into next season.

Oliver Glasner appeared to have one foot out the door at Crystal Palace for much of the campaign. Despite all the goodwill generated by the club's historic trophy successes, September's standout manager confirmed he will indeed depart Selhurst Park when his contract expires in June.

Arteta, meanwhile, shows no signs of stepping away as Arsenal continue their pursuit of silverware carrying considerably more weight than the Manager of the Month award.