Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has hit the ground running in England. With nine goals in five games in August, the Norwegian leads the list of nominees for Premier League’s Player of the Month award. T
he Norwegian hit the ground running for his new club, scoring twice on his debut. He returned to the scoresheet after the space of one game in a 3-3 draw against Newcastle United, but his crowning moment as City’s new talisman arrived in the final week of the month when, in the space of four days, he hit back-to-back hattricks in his team’s wins over Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.
Gabriel Jesus, who left the Citizens to make space for Haaland and joined Arsenal, is also nominated for the same award, as is his teammate Martin Odegaard. The two played key roles for the Gunners in their perfect start to the season – they went five for five in August but lost the first game in September to Manchester United.
Also among the nominees is Newcastle United’s summer signing Nick Pope, the only custodian on the list. Joining Pope are Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic, Brighton’s Pascal Gross, Leeds United’s Rodrigo Moreno, and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha.
In the Manager of the Month category, Mikel Arteta leads his fellow nominees following Arsenal’s perfect August. His former mentor Pep Guardiola also makes the list, with Man City also unbeaten in the league so far – albeit, the Citizens dropped points at Newcastle.
Ex-Brighton manager Graham Potter – who was recently unveiled as the Chelsea head coach – has also made the Manager of the Month nominations after helping the minnows climb to fourth in the league table. Fulham’s Marco Silva is rewarded for the performances his team has put in upon their return to the Premier League, while Tottenham’s Antonio Conte completes the list.
