Today is the day! It's finally time to unveil which players have won their respective gold medals in our Arsenal 2019/20 Awards Season. Winners were decided by public fan votes which stood for 50% of the total with football.london writers making up the remainder.
For those who need reminding, the categories for the awards were as follows: Most Improved Player, Moment of the Season, Rookie of the Season, Under-23s Player of the Season, Assist of the Season, Goal of the Season, Performance of the Season and of course, Player of the Season.
Some of the winners you may have expected to see but there are some pleasant surprises in there for you all too which I'm sure there will still be some debate over.
Anyway, the winners for each category has been named and you can check them all out below. Enjoy!
Most Improved Player: Bernd Leno
Following his debut season, the German truly grew into the No.1. role over the course of the 2019/20 campaign.
Although he began the season with a few scares with the ball at his feet, his goalkeeping became vital to keeping Arsenal away from real danger. At the point of the break, Leno had amassed the second-highest saves in the Premier League [104] and was key to Mikel Arteta turning draws into wins. An outstanding individual season.
Moment of the Season: Gabriel Martinelli vs Chelsea
A man down away from home with an hour played, nobody would have imagined an 18-year-old to be the one to drag Arsenal back into the game at Stamford Bridge. As he streaked up the pitch, everything around Gabriel Martinelli seemed to freeze before the eruption in the away end after he slotted the ball home and celebrated accordingly.
Becoming the first teenager to reach 10 goals in a season since Nicolas Anelka to top his all-round amazing performance cemented this as a moment for all Arsenal fans to remember fondly from 2019/20.
Rookie of the Season: Gabriel Martinelli
Firstly, Bukayo Saka was not included in this category as he had played for Arsenal during the 2018/19 season, therefore, not being a rookie.
As a result it wasn't surprising to see Martinelli storm the votes for this category. From his instant impact on pre-season, his rise in the cup competitions and his development under Freddie Ljungberg and Arteta, he has without doubt been the highlight of Arsenal's season. Having performed so consistently well at such a young age, the excitement around Arsenal's future with Martinelli is well worth it.
Under-23s Player of the Season: Tyreece John-Jules
Although Flo Balogun ran him close in the polls, what separated John-Jules was how diverse his game is compared to his Under-23s strike partner.
Proving himself to be extremely comfortable in the Premier League 2 in the first half of the season, it was clear to all that he had to get first team football. Within touching distance of that for Arsenal, and eventually moving out on loan, John-Jules was the player that made the biggest impact within Steve Bould's squad.
Assist of the Season: Mesut Ozil vs Liverpool
Back to his old tricks, Ozil silenced Anfield back in October with one of the most audacious pieces of skill across the leagues this season. Executing his scooped backheel to perfection so it landed in Ainsley Maitland-Niles' path, it would have been a massive achievement if another assist beat this in the votes.
Matteo Guendouzi's floated ball to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against Tottenham Hotspur came close but the sheer uniqueness of Ozil's effort puts him on another stratosphere.
Goal of the Season: Joe Willock vs Liverpool
Martinelli came extremely close to taking away another end of season award but Willock came through to sneak this one away from him with a goal that left Anfield speechless yet again on that October night.
Picking the ball up on halfway, driving forward and bending the ball into the top corner from outside the box, this was a goal of true quality and would have caused problems for any goalkeeper Liverpool had chosen to stick between the sticks that night.
Performance of the Season: Bukayo Saka vs Newcastle
Another standout performer this season, it was only a matter of time before Saka claimed a gold medal.
Returning from the winter break, Arsenal started a tad slow against Newcastle before Saka sparked them into life. Continuously making runs down the left, his persistence paid off when he nutmegged Valentino Lazaro before assisting Nicolas Pepe for the second goal of the game [his eighth assist of the season]. He continued to be a menace all game, forcing Lazaro to be subbed off late on.
Player of the Season: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
No surprises here as Aubameyang claims the Arsenal Player of the Season.
The club captain has been responsible for 42.5% of the Gunners' Premier League goals and was a massive reason behind them both staying afloat under Unai Emery and challenging for European places under Arteta. What has been most impressive with the 30-year-old this year is how he's managed to evolve his game in terms of the types of goals he scores and his team play both with and without possession.
