It's clear why Arsenal have become many people's favorites to secure the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace compared to those same matches last season.
The Gunners have defeated all of them during this campaign, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race previously.
Impenetrable Backline
Arsenal's defensive strength is a key reason why they are seeming ready to ultimately achieve their title target.
They stand first for unbreached games (6), goals allowed (3), opposition efforts (72), shots on target faced (19) and xGA (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably 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 highly documented, but opposition teams still don't know how to neutralize the Gunners from these opportunities.
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 do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just afraid of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Credentials
What is even more notable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City at home - and are still four points clear at the top.
While they maintain victories, their traditional rivals 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 pressure was on boss Mikel Arteta at the start, having spent around £250m on eight summer signings in search of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the investment has so far proven successful in impressive fashion, with his side one of the most prolific attacks in the league and possessing the tightest defense, despite multiple injuries.
- Clean sheets in three straight Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without allowing a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and analysts have characterized Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now performing with confidence and determination.
