Mikel Arteta has been named Manager of the Year and Declan Rice Premier League Player of the Year at the 2026 London Football Awards, as Arsenal’s season continues to be recognised beyond the pitch.
Arsenal’s leadership on and off the pitch was recognised at the 2026 London Football Awards on Thursday night, with Mikel Arteta crowned Manager of the Year and Declan Rice winning Premier League Player of the Year.
The London Football Awards confirmed both winners via the event’s official channels, with Arteta receiving the manager prize, Raya with Goalkeeper of the Year and Rice taking the Premier League player award.
Arteta’s award lands at a point where Arsenal have built a clear lead at the top of the Premier League table. The manager has guided Arsenal through a season shaped by heavy minutes, tight margins and a schedule that has demanded rotation without losing consistency. His win comes from a shortlist that included Alex Neil, Andy Woodman, Keith Andrews and Martin Ho, reflecting the awards’ remit across London clubs and across men’s and women’s football.
Rice’s Premier League Player of the Year prize is an individual recognition for a midfielder who has become central to Arsenal’s control. The nominees list for the category also included Jurriën Timber, Fulham’s Harry Wilson, Brentford’s Igor Thiago and Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, underlining how strongly Arsenal were represented on the shortlist.
Arsenal also collected another prize on the night, with David Raya named Goalkeeper of the Year. Arsenal’s official recap of the ceremony noted Raya’s back-to-back Premier League Golden Glove wins and said the Spaniard was recognised for his consistency across the season.
For Arsenal, the triple success is a reflection of how the season has been driven by standards set from the dugout and carried on the pitch. Arteta has made Arsenal one of the league’s most repeatable teams week to week, while Rice’s range of responsibilities has expanded from ball-winning into tempo-setting and set-piece influence. That blend of management and midfield control and excellence in defence has become a defining feature of Arsenal’s campaign.
Alongside the Arsenal double, Eberechi Eze was honoured with the PFA Men’s Player in the Community award, a new category introduced for 2026 in partnership with the PFA. The London Football Awards’ official account said the award recognised Eze and The Eze Foundation for work supporting young people.
Eze’s win adds a different dimension to the evening, reflecting the awards’ aim to highlight both on-pitch excellence and community impact. The nominees list for the new community category included Eze alongside QPR’s Jimmy Dunne and Millwall’s Lukas Jensen.
The London Football Awards are staged in support of the Willow Foundation and are designed to recognise standout performers from clubs across the capital.