It's obvious why Arsenal stand as many people's favorites to claim the Premier League in the current campaign.
Examine their performances against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus those equivalent matches last season.
The Gunners have defeated all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.
Defensive Strength
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title target.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (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 don't know how to contain the Gunners from these situations.
They have scored 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals coming from these situations.
"Arsenal can do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a daunting aura. People are just fearful of them and it is great to see."
Championship Pedigree
What is particularly 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 at home - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they maintain victories, their long-standing opponents face difficulties. This marks the premier instance 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 expectations was on manager Mikel Arteta at the outset, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far paid off in impressive fashion, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and boasting the most resilient defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in three straight Premier League games
- 385 minutes without conceding a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across various contests
Former players and pundits have labeled Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now performing with conviction and purpose.
