It's obvious why Arsenal are now numerous fans' favorites to secure the Premier League during this term.
Examine their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus those equivalent matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have beaten all of them in the current season, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race previously.
Impenetrable Backline
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are seeming ready to finally fulfil their title goal.
They stand first for unbreached games (6), shots let in (3), attempts against (72), dangerous chances allowed (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the strongest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their effectiveness from free kicks is well known, but competing clubs still don't know how to contain the Gunners from these situations.
They have scored 11 times from set-pieces in the league, two more than any other side, with 69% of their goals resulting from these situations.
"Arsenal can do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just wary of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Claims
What is particularly impressive about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also encountered Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City on home turf - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their historic competitors are struggling. This marks the initial occasion at this point of the season since 1992 that none of Manchester City and United, Liverpool or Chelsea are in the Premier League top four.
The expectations was on head coach Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer additions in search of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in impressive fashion, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and possessing the tightest defense, despite multiple injuries.
- Clean sheets in three straight Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without allowing a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across various contests
Former players and analysts have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now functioning with conviction and determination.
