It's obvious why Arsenal have become many people's preferred choice to win the Premier League this season.
Examine their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those identical matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have defeated all of them this time around, but dropped 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race previously.
Impenetrable Rearguard
Arsenal's defensive solidity is a primary factor why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title target.
They stand first for clean sheets (6), goals allowed (3), opposition efforts (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the best in the league, with Arsenal recording a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Excellence
Their threat from set-pieces is highly documented, but competing clubs still don't know how to stop 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 resulting from these situations.
"Arsenal can excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just afraid of them and it is wonderful 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 ahead by four points at the top.
While they keep winning, their historic competitors face difficulties. This marks the initial occasion 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 scrutiny was on boss Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having spent around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in search of that coveted first title since 2004.
But the investment has so far yielded results in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and having the tightest defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Clean sheets in three consecutive Premier League games
- Over six hours without conceding a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and pundits have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and resolve.
