It's clear why Arsenal stand as many people's preferred choice to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Examine their performances against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those same matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have overcome all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race in the prior campaign.
Defensive Prowess
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are looking well positioned to ultimately achieve their title goal.
They lead the league for clean sheets (6), goals allowed (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and xGA (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the best in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their danger from dead balls is well known, but rival sides still don't know how to stop the Gunners from these opportunities.
They have registered 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals originating from these situations.
"Arsenal can do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a daunting aura. People are just fearful of them and it is excellent to see."
Championship Pedigree
What is especially notable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also encountered Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City on home turf - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they keep winning, their historic competitors aren't faring so well. This marks the premier instance 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 expectations was on boss Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in search of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in impressive fashion, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and having the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Shutouts in three straight Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without letting in a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across various contests
Former players and analysts have labeled Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now functioning with confidence and purpose.
