There's little doubt why Arsenal stand as countless pundits' preferred choice to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their outcomes against West Ham and Crystal Palace compared to those equivalent matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have beaten all of them during this campaign, but lost 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race last season.
Impenetrable Backline
Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are looking well positioned to finally fulfil their title target.
They stand first for shutouts (6), shots let in (3), opposition efforts (72), shots on target faced (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the best in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Mastery
Their threat from set-pieces is widely recognized, but rival sides still find it difficult to contain the Gunners from these chances.
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 excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is wonderful to see."
Title Claims
What is particularly remarkable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still four points clear at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their historic competitors 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 spent around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the investment has so far paid off in style, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and possessing the tightest defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Unbreached games in three straight Premier League games
- Over six hours without conceding a goal
- Only three goals in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and pundits have labeled Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now performing with confidence and determination.
