It's evident why Arsenal are now countless pundits' preferred choice to claim the Premier League during this term.
Examine their outcomes against West Ham and Crystal Palace compared to those same matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have overcome all of them in the current season, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title ambition.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the finest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their effectiveness from free kicks is widely recognized, but opposition teams still don't know how to neutralize the Gunners from these chances.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, two more 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 fearful of them and it is great 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 at opposition grounds and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they keep winning, their traditional rivals aren't faring so well. This marks the initial occasion 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 head coach Mikel Arteta at the outset, having invested around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in remarkable manner, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and boasting the strongest defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Unbreached games in three consecutive Premier League games
- 385 minutes without allowing a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now operating with confidence and purpose.
