Premier League Manager of the Season: Our Top 5 Picks

The 2022/23 Premier League season has given us both a tight title fight as well as a close-fought relegation scrap, but these five managers have had a mega season for their respective clubs.

In his seventh season at Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has guided City to a potential treble if all goes to plan in the latter stages of the season. City are on course to win their fifth Premier League title with Guardiola after they convincingly beat Arsenal at the Etihad 4 - 1 to go top of the table by a point with a game in hand.

In 33 games thus far, City have 25 wins, four draws and four losses. Along with sitting at the top of the table, City have scored the most goals in the league with 87 in 33 games and have also conceded the least with just 30 in 33 games.

Guardiola’s side are also in an all-Manchester FA Cup Final after they beat Sheffield United 3 - 0 in the Semi-final and meet holders Real Madrid in the Champions League Semi-finals, where they can get revenge for their loss last season.

Though their title charge has faltered somewhat in recent weeks, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal could very much still win their first title in 20 years. The three draws, a loss and a win in their last five games has hampered their momentum but Arteta’s side are still within touching distance of a point of top spot.

After a couple of rocky seasons with Arteta, the Spaniard has finally implemented his vision in this Arsenal team. Despite their FA Cup win in 2020, this season is the first time Arsenal have been able to mount a serious title challenge.

In their 34 games thus far, Arsenal have 24 wins, six draws and four losses - the joint least amount of losses this season with Man City. Their early exits from both domestic and European competition has allowed Arsenal to focus on the league, something that may benefit them greatly.

Eddie Howe’s move to Newcastle was an understandable match but not one that inspired too much fear into the usual suspects when it comes to European football. However, The Magpies have been inspired under Howe this season and are in serious contention to play Champions League football for the first time since 2002.

After 33 games, Newcastle sit in third, a far cry from their 11th-place finish in the 2021/22 season. Howe’s side are two points ahead of Manchester United and six points ahead of Liverpool with five games left.

Howe also took Newcastle to their first major final since the 1998/99 FA Cup Final this season. Though The Magpies eventually suffered a 2 - 0 loss to United in the League Cup Final, this showed the massive strides Newcastle have made under Howe.

Roberto De Zerbi was a surprise pick for Brighton as a replacement for Graham Potter when he left for Chelsea. De Zerbi’s previous experience with Shakhtar Donetsk and Sassuolo hardly highlighted him as one of the most sought-after managers in Europe but his performance at Brighton this season may have done this for the future.

Since September, De Zerbi has managed 33 games for Brighton, winning 17 games, drawing eight and losing eight, giving De Zerbi a 51.52% win percentage. The Seagulls currently sit in sixth place, four points behind Liverpool in the last European football spot. However, it must be noted that Brighton have two games in hand on Liverpool so it is more than possible that Brighton could take the final European place in the Europa League. This would be their first time playing European football in the club’s history.

Unai Emery came in to replace Steven Gerrard in November after a poor start to the season. The Spaniard was somewhat underrated when coming back to the Premier League after an underwhelming stint at Arsenal, but has proven himself in England with his short time at Aston Villa thus far.

Since coming in, Emery has overseen 23 games for Aston Villa, winning 13 games, drawing three and losing seven. This has led to Emery having a 56.52% win rate with the Villans and leading his side to eighth in the Premier League.

This impressive charge since the league resumed after the World Cup finds them eighth and just five points off of European football and on equal points with Tottenham. Emery’s influence cannot be undermined, as Villa sat in 17th position when Gerrard was dismissed and the likes of Ollie Watkins have been transformed into one of the stars of the season, as the Englishman now has 14 goals and six assists in 33 games.

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