Arsenal dominated the London Football Awards on Monday night, with wins in many of the major categories.
With Arsenal top of the league and a long way clear of their London rivals this season, perhaps it’s no surprise that the Gunners cleaned up at this year’s London Football Awards, held in aid of the Willow Foundation.
But first up was Arsenal and England’s Leah Williamson, collecting The Power of Football Award on behalf of UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 winners the Lionesses.
Then it was Mikel Arteta’s turn, as the Arsenal boss won Manager of the Year.
On receipt of the award Arteta said: “Very honoured to be part of the Willow Foundation, the incredible work that you guys have been doing for 23 years.
“In our job, we have the opportunity to make a lot of people happy and improve their lives, and thanks again for being part of that.
“I would like to thank you as well for the award, for all my colleagues, all the staff, everybody at the club that inspires and supports me every single day, and obviously, to all the supporters that support our club and football in general.”
After that, Bukayo Saka won the Men’s Young Player of the Year award, the second time the London Football Awards have given him that honour.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone for voting me for this award,” Saka said. “Thank you to Willow as well, very special charity.
“So yeah, I’m really proud to win this and of course, I want to dedicate it to all the children that are growing up in London with big dreams.
“I was once in their shoes and it’s always nice to remember that. It just makes winning things like this even more special.”
After Saka won the Men’s Young Player award, Martin Odegaard picked up the Premier League Player of the Year award.
“Thank you so much for this award,” Odegaard said. “Thank you for everyone voting for me. A lot of great candidates, and I think just within the (Arsenal) team there would have been a lot of worthy winners.
“So I just want to share it with the whole team, and also to say it’s great to see the club being recognised here tonight with all the awards.
“I think it shows how far we’ve come as a club, and what we’re doing this year is very special, so I’m very happy to be part of that.
“I’m sure there’s more to come, so I’m very excited for the future as well.”
Finally, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale won the Goalkeeper of the Year Award, with the keeper praise for his “countless incredible saves, crucial to Arsenal’s success so far this season”.
“[I’m] honoured,” Ramsdale said. “Bit overwhelming as well, really. This is my first awards, [not counting club awards]. And obviously, London being as big as it is with the amount of football teams in it, to win it, to get voted, it’s a huge honour.”
There’s no doubt Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side are the dominant force in London this season. The team now need to push on and try and pick up some of the league-wide awards and trophies at the end of the campaign.