Opta Player of the Month

Thierry Henry came out on top from Opta's Player of the Month rankings.

With Arsenal currently enjoying a resurgence in form both domestically and in Europe, it comes as little surprise that The Gunners' inspirational captain Thierry Henry is Opta's Player of the Month for March.

While the speculation concerning the fleet-footed Frenchman's future continues to hang in the Highbury air, Henry has kept his focus on the pitch, putting in a number of superb performances in March.

The former Juventus attacker bagged four goals in Arsenal's three Premiership games, netting braces against both Fulham and Liverpool, while overall Henry attempted an impressive tally of 16 shots.

The much-coveted striker did his best work inside the opposition box, scoring all his four goals from close range and firing in a divisional high of seven shots on target from inside the box.

Taking the runners-up spot is Manchester United's recent recruit Nemanja Vidic. The burly Serbian has quickly adapted to the incessant pace of the Premiership since his winter move from Spartak Moscow and was instrumental in The Red Devils' all-conquering March form.

In his three Premiership games last month, United conceded only one goal, with Vidic utilising his towering presence at both ends of the pitch, making 28 headed clearances, more than any other United player and mustering three headed attempts on goal.

Third place goes to Portsmouth's sharp-shooter Pedro Mendes. The former Spurs schemer burst into action in March, firing in three spectacular goals to give the Fratton faithful a glimmer of hope as the season end draws near.

Overall, the Portuguese midfielder fired in a total of seven long-range shots, but Mendes also worked hard defensively, making 21 tackles, more than any of his team-mates.

Fourth and fifth place in the Opta rankings go to Emmanuel Adebayor and Cristiano Ronaldo respectively. Togo international Adebayor has quickly formed a potent frontline partnership with Thierry Henry since his move from Monaco in January.

The towering target man netted twice in March and managed a total of eight attempts on goal from his three starts.

Cristiano Ronaldo also enjoyed an impressive March, peppering the opposition goal with a total of 19 attempts and bagging the opening goal in the 2-1 win against Wigan. The wily winger also provided two goal assists as well as setting up 14 goalscoring chances for his team-mates, a divisional high for the month.