Five managers are in the running to win September’s Premier League Manager of the Month award.
Four of the current top five make the cut as the top teams started to create some separation towards the summit of the Premier League table.
Here’s a closer look at the candidates.
Arsenal remain unbeaten in the Premier League after three wins and a draw from four games in September.
Mikel Arteta was nominated for the award last month and will hope to get his hands on the prize for the first time this season after seeing off Manchester United, Everton and Bournemouth while also grabbing a point from the derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
If the Gunners are unbeaten this time next month, after facing both Manchester City and Chelsea, Arteta will be flying.
September got off to a rough start for Aston Villa as they fell to Liverpool, but Unai Emery responded with a bang.
After the international break, a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace set the Villans on the right track again and a 1-0 triumph over Chelsea kept the good times rolling.
They ended on the highest note possible as Villa thumped Brighton & Hove Albion 6-1, sending a major message to the rest of the Premier League in the process.
An unconvincing start to the season had many fans questioning Newcastle United‘s pedigree and a 3-1 defeat to Brighton before the international break suggested September was going to be a gloomy one on Tyneside.
An impressive 1-0 win over Brentford steadied the ship but even the most optimistic of fans did not see the 8-0 drubbing of Sheffield United coming, and a 2-0 victory over Burnley helped restore Newcastle’s reputation as one of the fiercest defences in the Premier League.
Newcastle are now up to eighth in the standings and will hope to ride this momentum even higher.
Defeat to Tottenham and the controversy that followed has threatened to overshadow what was an otherwise excellent month for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool bagged nine goals as they saw off Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United, and they were arguably the better side against Tottenham even though they played most of the game with ten players and the final 20 minutes with only nine.
The unbeaten streak might be over, but Liverpool’s season is only just getting started.
After picking up the prize in August, Ange Postecoglou is going for his second award in as many months as Tottenham manager.
Spurs remain unbeaten in the Premier League heading into October. Last month brought victories over Burnley, Sheffield United and Liverpool, as well as an enthralling 2-2 draw with fierce rivals Arsenal away from home.
Only Manchester City and Newcastle boast better goal differences than Spurs at this point in the season, with Ange-ball really winning over fans thus far.
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