3 Arsenal players nominated for Fans’ Player of the Year award | OneFootball

Arsenal have received three nominations for the PFA Premier League Fans’ Player of the Year award for 2023/24, with voting now open.

LONDON, ENGLAND: Declan Rice of Arsenal celebrates with teammate Martin Odegaard after his team’s victory in the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on August 21, 2023. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The PFA have announced their nominees for the 2023/24 Premier League Fans’ Player of the Year award, with three Arsenal players included on the list.

Declan Rice, William Saliba, and Martin Odegaard join Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and Rodri on the shortlist, with the voting open and available here.

Bukayo Saka is a disappointing exclusion, though not a particularly surprising one, as the winger was already left out of the Premier League’s Player of the Year award shortlist.

As well as the fan award, the players are also in the process of voting for their PFA Award winners.

LONDON, ENGLAND: William Saliba of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Burnley FC at Emirates Stadium on November 11, 2023. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Summer signing Rice has helped Arsenal to improve on last season’s 84 points in the Premier League by picking up 86 this time around, with another three points available at the weekend.

The Gunners have improved on last season’s total despite also taking on the challenge of a first Champions League campaign for a number of years, and Rice has been pivotal in that improvement.

Playing 37 times in 37 games, Rice has scored seven and assisted nine on top of the defensive improvements he’s brought to Mikel Arteta’s team.

Rice can’t take full credit for those defensive displays though, and Saliba has received a nomination for his part in Arsenal conceding the fewest goals in the league. Only Manchester City come close, five goals behind.

Saliba has shown what Arsenal missed in the run-in last season, also playing all 37 games of the season so far. Unlike Rice, the centre-back hasn’t missed a single minute yet.

LONDON, ENGLAND: Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium on April 14, 2024. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Club captain Odegaard is the deserving third Arsenal nominee, providing consistently strong performances as the team has won 15 of their last 17 games.

The midfielder has eight goals and eight assists in his 34 league appearances, but his displays have been about a lot more than that. You only have to watch an Arsenal game for a few minutes to see the Norwegian international pulling the strings in the middle.

Arsenal currently look set to narrowly miss out on the Premier League title, but Rice, Saliba, and Odegaard have played a major role in taking it to the final day.