Premier League Manager of the Month | Top 3 nominees

Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Ole Gunnar Solskajer (Manchester United), Unai Emery (Arsenal) make the three-man shortlist for the Manager of the Month award, February.

The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 10% of the final tally, and a panel of experts. Sir Alex Ferguson tops the list with 27 awards. Guardiola also makes the top 10 with 5 wins. Solskajer won the award in January with Manchester United, the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson.

Let's take a quick look at the top three nominees for the month of February.

#3 Unai Emery

Arsenal FC v Southampton FC - Premier League

Arsenal had an unfortunate start to February, losing to Manchester City 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium. This also meant Arsenal dropping to sixth in the league. However, they came back strongly to win 2-1 at Huddersfield Town.

After two away outings, the Gunners were back at the Emirates Stadium with a 2-0 triumph over Southampton and 5-1 victory over Bournemouth. Emery invited criticism when he fielded a 3-4-2-1 against Bournemouth, but it did wonders as the Gunners went on rampage and ended up with a well-deserved victory. Ozil also made a comeback to the squad, making things easy for the Spaniard in-charge.

Emery's February

MCI 3 - 1 ARS

HUD 1 - 2 ARS

ARS 2 - 0 SOU

ARS 5 - 1 BOU

Upcoming EPL Fixtures for Arsenal

Emery has his work cut-out as his team travels to Wembley against their direct rivals Tottenham. A victory for Arsenal would bridge the gap with Tottenham to just 1 point. This would open up the EPL table for the third and the fourth place. After this, they take on the in-form Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.

#2 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Solskjaer (L) and Rashford

Manchester United had a pretty tough February in the EPL with three away fixtures while only to hosting the table-toppers Liverpool.

Solskjaer's men recorded 1-0 and 3-0 victories against Leicester City and Fulham respectively. The home game against Liverpool ended up in a goal-less draw. Solskjaer had to cope up with a lot of injuries before and during the game. Anthony Martial and Nemanja Matic were out to injury. Jesse Lingard was expected to play his part late in the game.

United had to make three subs in the first half itself with Juan Mata and Ander Herrera coming off to injuries and the sub Lingard pulling his hamstring when he took a run and came agonizingly close to scoring. United managed to hold on but this meant them dropping out of the top four in the table.

Solskjaer's February

LEI 0 - 1 MUN

FUL 0 - 3 MUN

MUN 0 - 0 LIV

CRY 1 - 3 MUN

Upcoming EPL Fixtures for United

They play Southampton at Old Trafford before travelling to the Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal, which would be decisive for a top-four finish with only a point separating the Gunners and the Red Devils.

#1 Pep Guardiola

Manchester City v West Ham United - Premier League

Before entering February, Liverpool were five points clear for the title. After a remarkable run from City, the gap is now cut down to just a point, spicing up the battle for the Premier League title.

City hosted Arsenal and Chelsea in February, conceding just 1 goal and accumulating 12 precious points. City came out all guns blazing against Chelsea, racing to a 4-0 lead in just 25 minutes. Sergio Aguero (who has also been nominated for the Player of The Month award) scored a hat-trick as City completely outplayed Sarri's Chelsea.

"After [defeat to] Newcastle, everybody was put in front of the mirror and we talked to each other and we accepted the reality and moved forward ", said Pep Guardiola after the 6-0 drubbing.

Pep's February

MCI 3 - 1 ARS

EVE 0 - 2 MCI

MCI 6 - 0 CHE

MCI 1 - 0 WHU

Solskjaer and Guardiola seem to be in a tough battle for the award. Vote for your favourite manager right here.