It's clear why Arsenal are now many people's favorites to secure the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their performances against Fulham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those equivalent matches last season.
The Gunners have overcome all of them during this campaign, but lost 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Rearguard
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are looking well positioned to finally fulfil their title ambition.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), opposition efforts (72), quality opportunities against (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the best in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their danger from dead balls is well known, but opposition teams still find it difficult to contain the Gunners from these chances.
They have scored 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals coming from these situations.
"Arsenal can excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just wary of them and it is great to see."
Championship Pedigree
What is especially notable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still four points clear 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 pressure was on boss Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in search of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far paid off in impressive fashion, with his side second top scorers in the league and boasting the tightest defense, despite multiple injuries.
- Shutouts in three consecutive Premier League games
- Over six hours without letting in a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and analysts have described Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now performing with conviction and determination.
