It's evident why Arsenal are now many people's preferred choice to claim the Premier League in the current campaign.
Look at their performances against Fulham and Crystal Palace versus those equivalent matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have defeated all of them during this campaign, but lost 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race last season.
Defensive Prowess
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are looking well positioned to finally fulfil their title target.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and xGA (5.3).
The defensive partnership 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 Dominance
Their threat from set-pieces is well known, but opposition teams still struggle to stop the Gunners from these situations.
They have scored 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 do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just fearful of them and it is great to see."
Championship Claims
What is especially notable about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City at home - and are still four points clear at the top.
While they keep winning, 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 expectations was on manager Mikel Arteta at the outset, having invested around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the business has so far proven successful in remarkable manner, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and having the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Clean sheets in three straight Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without conceding a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and experts have described Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now functioning with belief and determination.
