Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud and manager Arsene Wenger have been rewarded for their performances in March with the Barclays Monthly awards.
Winning the award for the first time, Giroud claimed his prize after plundering five goals, including the two that beat Newcastle United 2-1 at St James’ Park as well as strikes against Everton, Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United that meant that he scored in all four Barclays Premier League matches in March.
The 28-year-old France international, who has scored 40 Premier League goals in 89 appearances since signing from Ligue 1 side Montpellier in summer 2012, beat last month’s winner Harry Kane, of Tottenham Hotspur, team-mate Francis Coquelin, Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini and Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor to the award.
“It’s a great honour to have been selected as Player of the Month”
“I’m really pleased with it,” Giroud told Arsenal Player. “I would like to thank my team-mates and of course the fans, because it’s a collective sport and I couldn’t do it on my own.
“It’s a great honour to have been selected as Player of the Month, especially because we wanted to bounce back from the Champions League disappointment.”
For Wenger, the longest serving manager in the Barclays Premier League with 706 appearances in the Arsenal dugout, this is the 14th time he has won the Barclays Manager of the Month award in his 19 seasons at the north London club.
The Frenchman guided the Gunners to four straight victories in the Barclays Premier League to ensure they maintained their hold on third place in the top flight and closed to within a point of second-placed Manchester City.
After a 2-0 victory over Everton at the start of the month, Arsenal triumphed 2-1 at Queens Park Rangers before hitting three unanswered goals against West Ham United. Wenger’s charges crowned a strong month with a 2-1 triumph at Newcastle United.
Votes for the awards came from the Barclays Panel, a group of former players, journalists and key football stakeholders.
