Calafiori and Arteta up for Premier League August awards

Riccardo Calafiori has been nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month award for August, alongside Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's nomination for Manager of the Month.

Arteta led Arsenal to two wins from two league games in August, with a goal difference of +4, the best of any manager in the division. Chelsea's Enzo Maresca matched the win record but not the goal difference, having both scored and conceded more. Also nominated are the other two managers whose sides won both their opening fixtures.

Calafiori's case rests on two assists and two clean sheets from Arsenal's opening two matches. His low ball across goal set up Kai Havertz against Coventry City, and a cutback against Aston Villa left Bukayo Saka with a simple finish for the winner. Arsenal restricted their opponents to a single shot on target across both games combined.

The nominations do not take into account Arsenal's Community Shield win over Manchester City, in which Calafiori also scored.

He is up against seven other nominees: Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro of Chelsea, Lyon's Rayan Cherki, Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, Leicester's Mamadou Sangare, Hull City's Konstantinos Tzolakis and Brentford's Yoane Wissa. Cherki and Joao Pedro each managed two goals and two assists in their two games, while Fernandes scored three despite United losing one of their opening two fixtures.

Voting for both awards runs until 12:00 BST on Monday, 7 September, decided by a combination of fan votes, Premier League captains and a panel of experts, with the results announced on 11 September.