There's no doubt why Arsenal are now countless pundits' favorites to secure the Premier League in the current campaign.
Examine their performances against West Ham and Crystal Palace compared to those same matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have beaten all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race last season.
Impenetrable Backline
Arsenal's defensive solidity is a key reason why they are looking well positioned to finally fulfil their title target.
They stand first for shutouts (6), goals allowed (3), opposition efforts (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the strongest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Expertise
Their threat from set-pieces is widely recognized, but competing clubs still don't know how to neutralize 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 resulting from these situations.
"Arsenal can do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is wonderful to see."
Title Potential
What is particularly impressive about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City on home turf - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they maintain victories, their historic competitors aren't faring so well. This marks the first time 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 manager Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the business has so far yielded results in impressive fashion, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and having the tightest defense, despite several injuries.
- Clean sheets in each of their last three Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without allowing 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 difficult to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and purpose.
