There's little doubt why Arsenal have become numerous fans' top picks to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Look at their performances against Newcastle and Crystal Palace in contrast with those identical matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have defeated all of them in the current season, but lost 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Rearguard
Arsenal's defensive strength is a crucial element why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title target.
They stand first for shutouts (6), goals conceded (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the best in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Dominance
Their threat from set-pieces is widely recognized, but opposition teams still struggle to contain the Gunners from these opportunities.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals resulting from these situations.
"Arsenal can excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just wary of them and it is great to see."
Championship Claims
What is even more remarkable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City on home turf - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they keep winning, their long-standing opponents aren't faring so well. This marks the premier instance 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 boss Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having invested around £250m on eight summer additions in search of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the investment has so far yielded results in style, with his side second top scorers in the league and possessing the tightest defense, despite several injuries.
- Clean sheets in three straight Premier League games
- Over six hours without letting in a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now performing with conviction and determination.
