There's little doubt why Arsenal stand as numerous fans' preferred choice to win the Premier League during this term.
Examine their outcomes against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches in the previous campaign.
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 last season.
Defensive Strength
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are appearing strong to finally fulfil their title target.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), shots on target faced (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the strongest in the league, with Arsenal recording a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Excellence
Their danger from dead balls is widely recognized, but rival sides still find it difficult to neutralize the Gunners from these chances.
They have registered 11 times from set-pieces in the league, a couple extra than any other side, with 69% of their goals originating from these situations.
"Arsenal can excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a daunting aura. People are just fearful of them and it is great to see."
Title Claims
What is even more impressive about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they keep winning, 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 head coach Mikel Arteta at the start, having invested around £250m on eight summer signings in quest of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the business has so far paid off in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and having the strongest defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Clean sheets in three consecutive Premier League games
- Over six hours without letting in a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and purpose.
