The Spaniard, currently sidelined through injury, has been in fine form recently and the pick of his October displays was his performance at Villa Park, where he made a number of impressive stops – including a sublime save from John McGinn that sees him land the monthly award.

The goalkeeper award is new for this season and recognises the efforts of those stopping goals rather than scoring or assisting them. Nick Pope and Jordan Pickford have picked up the award already this term.

Kepa was shortlisted following his heroic efforts at Villa Park but specifically the second of his triple save in the first half to push Jacob Ramsey’s strike against the post. He had initially batted away McGinn’s left-footed drive before springing back to his feet and then reaching down low to his right to keep up the follow-up.

Later in the game, our number one produced an amazing fingertip save to deny Danny Ings as he helped us to a clean sheet in a 2-0 victory.

Kepa saw off the challenge from the other nominees are - Bernd Leno (Fulham), Ederson (Manchester City), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest), David De Gea (Manchester United) – to win the award for his stunning stop from McGinn.

Congratulations, Kepa!