If Arsenal leave the Etihad Stadium with a draw or win this weekend, it is believed the Gunners will go top of the table and win the league title. It would be Arsenal’s first league win in over 20 years, but even if Arteta were to take the title back to Arsenal, there is no way the Spaniard would win the Manager of the Year award.
The reason is simple. Even if Arsenal win from here, they have disrupted the title race too much to justify Arteta’s award. They have been next in the table for at least three seasons, and while there were mitigating factors for their past two missteps, there were no excuses heading into this season.
Arteta was handed what was to be the final piece of the puzzle in the summer transfer window, most notably a recognized striker in Victor Gokeres. However, despite a strong start to the season, the Gunners started to wobble again as the pressure mounted.
They are still favorites to win, and rightfully so, but if Arsenal had won from here they would probably have crawled over the line instead of waltzing around. But what about Guardiola? Admittedly, he was not in the same position as his compatriot Arteta heading into the 2025/26 season, but his upstart City side have also been flattered and fooled.
Arsenal have given the reigning champions ample opportunity to take control of the title race, but inconsistency has plagued the Blues far too often. If City win the title, their maximum points total will be 85. Given the wealth and resources available to City, this is hardly a vintage title win for Guardiola.
So who should win? There is only one answer to that question.
Heading into the new season, it felt like the Bees were being tipped by many for relegation, with most teams marking Brentford as a relegation scrap. Brentford rolled the dice by replacing long-term manager Thomas Frank with the unproven Keith Andrews.
However, with just a few weeks left until the end of the season, Brentford still have a chance of qualifying for the Champions League. It’s an absurd statement that would have been laughed at by just about everyone, including perhaps even Andrews himself, if he had said it in August.
Elsewhere, Andoni Iraola could be in with a shout if he can lead Bournemouth to Europe. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, on the other hand, would have done a great job of getting them into the Champions League with all the club’s PSR restrictions.
But when it comes to the question, ‘Who should win the Premier League Manager of the Year award?’, one thing is certain. The answer is certainly not Guardiola or Arteta.
