There's no doubt why Arsenal are now many people's preferred choice to claim the Premier League this season.
Consider their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those same matches last season.
The Gunners have beaten all of them during this campaign, 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 looking well positioned to finally fulfil their title goal.
They rank top for unbreached games (6), shots let in (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and xGA (5.3).
The central defensive pairing 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 don't know how to stop the Gunners from these opportunities.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, two more than any other side, with 69% of their goals coming from these situations.
"Arsenal can perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Claims
What is especially 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 at home - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their traditional rivals 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 pressure was on boss Mikel Arteta at the start, having spent around £250m on eight summer signings in pursuit of that coveted 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 possessing the tightest defense, despite multiple injuries.
- Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without allowing a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across various contests
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now performing with conviction and determination.
