It's obvious why Arsenal stand as many people's favorites to claim the Premier League this season.
Consider their results against Fulham and Crystal Palace compared to those same matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have beaten all of them this time around, but dropped 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Rearguard
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are appearing strong to finally fulfil their title goal.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals allowed (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the finest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their effectiveness from free kicks is widely recognized, but opposition teams still don't know how to neutralize the Gunners from these situations.
They have registered 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 perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just fearful of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Claims
What is even more remarkable about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they keep winning, their historic competitors aren't faring so well. This marks the initial occasion at this juncture 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 manager Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having invested around £250m on eight summer signings in quest of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the investment has so far paid off in style, with his side one of the most prolific attacks in the league and boasting the tightest defense, despite numerous 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 labeled Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now operating with confidence and resolve.
