Arsenal duo Arsene Wenger and Olivier Giroud scoop Premier League awards for March

Arsenal duo Arsene Wenger and Olivier Giroud have been rewarded for the club's strong recent form by being named Premier League manager and player of the month for March.

The Gunners have been consistent in domestic competition over the last month, stretching their run of consecutive victories in the top-flight to six and also progressing to the semi-finals of the FA Cup following an impressive win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The club's only disappointment came in the Champions League, where they exited the competition at the last 16 stage for the fifth straight year despite a 2-0 second-leg success over AS Monaco.

Giroud scored the opener in that match, and he also contributed strongly to Arsenal's Premier League rise with goals against Everton, QPR, West Ham and Newcastle.

A four-minute brace against the latter took his tally to 16 for the season in all competitions and the Frenchman declared himself honoured to have scooped the award.

"I'm really pleased with it," Giroud told the club's official website. "I would like to thank my teammates and of course the fans, because it's a collective sport and I couldn't do it on my own.

"It's a great honour to have been selected as Player of the Month, especially because we wanted to bounce back from the Champions League disappointment. That's what we've done and we've come back really strongly. We all want to finish strongly and this award will give me more confidence for the following games."

Arsenal return to action after the international break with a heavyweight clash against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on 4 April.

The visitors are in need of a victory after losing to main Champions League qualification rivals Manchester United last time out and interest in the fixture has been increased by reports this week suggesting that Arsenal are closely monitoring the ongoing contract saga involving Raheem Sterling.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will definitely miss the match with a hamstring problem, while Danny Welbeck is a doubt after injuring his knee during England's 4-0 win over Lithuania last week.

Captain Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby and Mathieu Debuchy all came through a midweek friendly with Brentford unscathed, yet Wenger has not revealed whether any of the quartet will be considered for the weekend.