There's no doubt why Arsenal stand as countless pundits' preferred choice to claim the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their outcomes against Newcastle and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have defeated all of them in the current season, but dropped 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race last season.
Defensive Strength
Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title target.
They stand first for unbreached games (6), goals allowed (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and xGA (5.3).
The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the strongest in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Mastery
Their danger from dead balls is highly documented, but competing clubs still struggle to neutralize the Gunners from these situations.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals originating from these situations.
"Arsenal can do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a daunting aura. People are just wary of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Potential
What is especially remarkable about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they keep winning, their historic competitors aren't faring so well. This marks the premier instance at this stage 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 beginning, having spent around £250m on eight summer signings in pursuit of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far paid off in style, with his side one of the most prolific attacks in the league and having the strongest defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Shutouts in three straight Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without letting in a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and analysts have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now performing with belief and purpose.
