Arsenal’s Paul Ashcroft has been named the Premier League Groundsman of the Year for 2012.

The Sports Turf Research Institute has revealed its findings after looking at playing surfaces in all the professional leagues in England.

In a report, Dr Stephen Baker, Head of Soils and Sports Surface Science praised the standard of Premier League pitches, saying they were “all to a very high standard”.

Dr Baker noted that the participation of Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League had added to the usage of the ptich, but said that the Emirates surface had received the highest marks.

Four other clubs were highly commeded for the work of their groundsmen: Jonathan Calderwood (Aston Villa), Terry Forsyth (Liverpool), Andrew Tylly and Mick Curran (Newcastle) and Darren Baldwin (Tottenham).