It's obvious why Arsenal have become many people's favorites to claim the Premier League during this term.
Consider their performances against Fulham and Crystal Palace compared to those identical matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them during this campaign, but lost 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race previously.
Impenetrable Backline
Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are appearing strong to finally fulfil their title target.
They stand first for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), opposition efforts (72), dangerous chances allowed (19) and xGA (5.3).
The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the best in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Excellence
Their effectiveness from free kicks is highly documented, but competing clubs still don't know how to contain the Gunners from these situations.
They have scored 11 times from set-pieces in the league, a couple extra 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 intimidation presence. People are just wary of them and it is excellent to see."
Championship Credentials
What is particularly remarkable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City on home turf - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their historic competitors are struggling. 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 expectations was on boss Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having allocated around £250m on eight summer signings in pursuit of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in style, with his side second top scorers 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 letting in a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now functioning with conviction and purpose.
