There's little doubt why Arsenal stand as many people's favorites to claim the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus those equivalent matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them in the current season, but dropped 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race last season.
Impenetrable Backline
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are seeming ready to at last realize their title ambition.
They rank top for clean sheets (6), goals conceded (3), opposition efforts (72), quality opportunities against (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the best in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Proficiency
Their threat from set-pieces is widely recognized, but opposition teams still don't know how to neutralize the Gunners from these situations.
They have registered 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 do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just wary of them and it is great to see."
Championship Pedigree
What is especially impressive about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also encountered 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 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 spent around £250m on eight summer signings in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far paid off in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and possessing the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games
- 385 minutes without allowing a goal
- Only three goals in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and experts have characterized Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now functioning with belief and determination.
