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Bale named PFA Player of the Year

Gareth Bale poses with his PFA trophy © Getty Images

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Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale has been named PFA Player of the Year at an awards ceremony in London, with Arsenal's Jack Wilshere picking up the Young Player of the Year prize.

Bale beat off competition from the likes of Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic and Arsenal's Samir Nasri to claim the award, won last year by Wayne Rooney. He is the fourth Spurs player to claim the prize, following in the footsteps of David Ginola, Clive Allen and Pat Jennings.

"I am more than delighted really,'' Bale said. "It is a massive award and it is a great honour to receive, especially from other fellow professionals. It is a honour really when you look at the names that have won it before and it just makes you go 'wow' really.

"There haven't been too many Welshman to have won the trophy but it is great and it is great for me personally. And it is not just for me, it is for all my team-mates that have helped me through the season and it is kind of for everyone really.''

Bale has made 26 Premier League appearances for Tottenham so far this season, scoring seven goals and laying on one assist.

However, he was edged out by Wilshere for the young player award - the 19-year-old midfielder also seeing off the likes of Nasri, Joe Hart, Javier Hernandez and Nani to claim an award that counts James Milner, Ashley Young and Cesc Fabregas among its most recent winners.

"It is my first full season and it is a massive award, especially from my fellow players,'' Wilshere said. "It is amazing.

"Arsenal is a good club for bringing youngsters through and they keep proving it so I would like to thank the manager as well.''

Wilshere has made 28 league appearances for Arsenal, scoring one goal and providing three assists for team-mates. Only Andy Gray (1977) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2007) have previously won both prizes in the same season.

Howard Webb was another award winner on the night, the referee picking up a special merit award alongside linesmen Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey after they officiated the World Cup final in South Africa last summer.

The PFA Team of the Year was also announced, with league leaders Manchester United understandably dominating the lineup:

Premier League Team of the Year: Van Der Sar (Man Utd), Sagna (Arsenal), Cole (Chelsea), Vidic (Man Utd), Kompany (Man City), Nani (Man Utd), Nasri (Arsenal), Wilshere (Arsenal), Bale (Tottenham), Tevez (Man City), Berbatov (Man Utd).

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