There's no doubt why Arsenal stand as many people's preferred choice to win the Premier League this season.
Look at their outcomes against Fulham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those identical matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have defeated all of them this time around, but lost 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race last season.
Defensive Prowess
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are looking well positioned to at last realize their title ambition.
They rank top for clean sheets (6), shots let in (3), opposition efforts (72), shots on target faced (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the finest in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Mastery
Their effectiveness from free kicks is widely recognized, but competing clubs still find it difficult to stop the Gunners from these opportunities.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, a couple extra than any other side, with 69% of their goals resulting from these situations.
"Arsenal can perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is wonderful to see."
Title Potential
What is particularly remarkable about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City on home turf - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their historic competitors aren't faring so well. This marks the first time at this juncture of the season since 1992 that none of Manchester City and United, Liverpool or Chelsea are in the Premier League top four.
The pressure was on head coach Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in search of that coveted first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and boasting the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games
- Over six hours without conceding a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and analysts have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now operating with confidence and determination.
