It’s that time of year again: the season is finally coming to a close. The 2022-23 Premier League season has truly been one of the most unique. From relegation battles, to European battles, to title battles—this season has given us a lot of action. With one game week left, we already know that Manchester City has won the league for the 3rd time in a row. While this is impressive, there have been many other notable occurrences this season—and some disappointing. Without further ado, these are my Premier League end-of-the-season awards predictions:

Player of the Season: Erling Haaland

My player of the season is Man City’s Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker, at the age of 22, has broken numerous league records. Most importantly, as of the 24th of May, he has scored 37 league goals in a 38-game season, beating Alan Shearer’s record of 34 goals in a 40-game season and Mohammed Salah’s record of 32 goals in a 38-game season. He was also able to get seven assists and have 119 shots taken. He clearly will win the Golden Boot with the most goals and has been phenomenal to watch all season. You could say that in a season where Manchester City has had a small-ish drop-off, he has propelled them into an FA Cup final and a UEFA Champions League Final while securing the Premier League title with two games to spare. His pace and physicality are unmatched and I can’t wait to see him tear up the league again next season.

Young Player of the Season: Gabriel Martinelli

Since Erling Haaland is taken for player of the season, my young player of the season is Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli. At the age of 21, the Brazilian winger has scored 15 goals as of the 24th of May and assisted 5 times. He has had 75 shots and 28 on target. This has been his break-out season and oh man has he done it well. He is a huge team player and he for sure helped Arsenal challenge Man City for the title. And even though Arsenal did not win it, his ability on the ball, pace, field of view for passing, and his skills and flair have been a joy to watch. That is why I believe he deserves this award, and I am frankly shocked that professional pundits don’t agree.

Signing of the Season: Carlos Henrique “Casemiro”

At the beginning of the season, Manchester United had a lot to fix, placing sixth with their lowest point total in Premier League history. They decided to bring in Casemiro of Real Madrid, who is a 30-year-old Brazilian with loads of midfield experience. He has won numerous trophies at Real Madrid in Spain, and this signing has proved to be a very good one. And since I can’t pick Haaland again (who came to Man City in the summer of ’22), Casemiro gets my pick. With two games remaining for Man United, the top 4 seems to be in United’s hands. His quality was made immediately visible at the beginning of the season, and whenever he does not play, United suffers big time. He has been the most influential player who was brought in this year, so that is why he deserves this award.

Manager of the Season: Eddie Howe

Before Eddie Howe took over last season, Newcastle was in 19th place and was threatened by relegation. However, they survived last season and went into this one looking like candidates for finishing in the top half of the table. With some extra money from a Saudi Arabian takeover, they were able to snag a top 4 finish with 2 games remaining for them this season, after a 0-0 draw with Leicester City. This means that they will play with Europe’s elite in the UEFA Champions League next season. People attribute this success to the fact that they have new owners, but they have not spent a lot of money this season. Eddie Howe has worked wonders on this team, and to transform them from relegation candidates to getting a top 4 finish and getting to a League Cup final is magnificent, which is why he deserves this award more than anyone.

Biggest Surprise: Kaoru Mitoma

After a short loan spell in Belgium, Japanese wide-midfielder Kaoru Mitoma was brought back to Brighton where he could challenge for a spot in the first team. He was originally brought in for around $2.5 million from a Japanese University. After writing a whole thesis and essay on dribbling, Brighton scouts decided to sign him. And boy has that paid off this season. With 1 game left, he has scored 7 times and assisted 6 times. He also had 47 shots and 19 on target. While these don’t seem great, he isn’t a prime goalscorer. He is more of a team player who helps build up to a goal. He has humiliated multiple international-standard defenders from the biggest clubs in the league and has become an icon in Asia. No one expected this and I do not doubt that he will continue to do great things.

Goalkeeper of the Season: Alisson Becker

This season has definitely been a great one for all goalkeepers. There were many fine performances from the shot-stoppers this year; but for me, the best all season has been Alisson of Liverpool. The Brazilian shot-stopper, with one game remaining, has made 90 saves, kept 14 clean sheets (played in 14 games without conceding a goal), and has even recorded one assist. What stands out to me is his PSxG (Post-Shot Expected Goals). This is the number of potential goals he has stopped from going in. According to FotMob, this number is 8.5, meaning that he has prevented 8.5 potential goal concessions. That is the 2nd best in the league. His distribution is also excellent, which helped Mohammed Salah score early in the season. Liverpool has had a very poor season, going from second last year to potentially 5th or 6th (depending on the final game scoreline), meaning Becker has faced many more shots. He is by far the best goalkeeper in the league.

Favorite Game of the Season: Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United

I have selected this as my favorite game of the season because it is the most shocking and unexpected result of the season, and it was incredibly fun to watch. Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo got two goals, Mohammed Salah got two goals, Darwin Núñez got two goals, and Roberto Firmino got the cherry on top for a 7-0 thrashing of their arch-rivals, Manchester United. As mentioned above, Liverpool has had a poor season, and for them to churn out this result against an in-form Manchester United, who had won the League Cup the previous game before. The sheer unexpectedness of this result is the reason why I have selected this as my favorite game of the season.

Team of the Season (XI)

After long consideration, below is my team of the season:

Goalkeeper

• Alisson: Goalkeeper of the season

Defense

• Trippier: An excellent captain for Newcastle and has really outperformed others this season as a right-side attacking fullback.
• Saliba: Arsenal’s best center-back all season. His anticipation of passes is superb and has a strong physical presence in the backline.
• Dunk: Certainly has cemented himself as a Brighton legend. He is very strong on the ball and his last-ditch tackling is very impressive. He is extremely underrated and for me, he is England’s best center-back.
• Shaw: Has had an incredible comeback with Manchester United. Last season, he did not seem good enough, but now, he has drastically improved and changed everything for the better. He can also play as a center back, but he currently is thriving as a traditional left back, who occasionally can help out in attack.

Midfield

• Casemiro: Signing of the Season
• De Bruyne: He is certainly the best midfielder in the world right now. His vision for passing is the best in the world and his ability to produce any type of pass is absolutely unmatched. His contributions have surely helped Man City snag their 3rd league title.
• Ødegaard: He has been Arsenal’s player of the season for sure. Not only can he pass very well, but his ability to shoot from miles out and hit the target accurately is very, very good. And even though Arsenal did not end their season the way they wanted, he is the man to captain them to a title in the near future. For sure.

Forwards

• Salah: Considering Liverpool’s disappointing season, he has been unreal. His Goals/Assists ratio has been impressive and he has had a huge impact on Liverpool’s season, which is why he has been selected.
• Haaland: Player of the Season
• Martinelli: Young Player of the Season

By Matthew Polyak