By Toby Prince
Nigeria striker, Odion Ighalo, has been shortlisted for the Barclays Premier League September Player of the Month award.
The Watford front-man has been in blistering form this season – scoring five times in eight appearances and his exploits has not gone unnoticed by the Football Association.
Ighalo scored three goals in three games for the Hornets last month, including a match-winning double during the excellent 2-1 away win over Newcastle United and an equaliser in the 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth.
His other goal was his memorable strike against Swansea City at Vicarage Road, which helped to secure the Golden Boys’ first three points of the season.
Also on the shortlist are Jamie Vardy of Leicester City, Dimitri Payet of West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris and Manchester United duo Anthony Martial and Daley Blind.
Meanwhile for the Coach of the Month category, Manchester United’s Loius Van Gaal, Roberto Martinez of Everton and West Ham’s Slaven Bilic were all shortlisted.
The winner will be announced on Friday at 6am.
Ahead of his club’s clash with Arsenal on Saturday at home, Ighalo is looking forward to the prospect of facing Arsene Wenger’s side for the first time in his career.
“Our target is to try and play good football, defend well and take any opportunities that come our way to score goals. My target is to help my team play well and score goals,” he told AfricanFootball.com
“Arsenal are doing well at the moment, so it won’t be easy, but we hope for the three points.
“Yes we are ready to go; it’s not going to be easy for us. Arsenal play the best football in England but we are going to try and do something in the game,” he added.
The striker was on the scoresheet on Sunday when the Super Eagles defeated Cameroon 3-0 in a friendly match in Brussels, Belgium.
