It's obvious why Arsenal are now numerous fans' preferred choice to secure the Premier League this season.
Examine their performances against Newcastle and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them in the current season, but dropped 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are looking well positioned to ultimately achieve their title goal.
They stand first for shutouts (6), goals allowed (3), opposition efforts (72), quality opportunities against (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the strongest in the league, with Arsenal recording a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Dominance
Their threat from set-pieces is highly documented, but competing clubs still struggle to stop the Gunners from these situations.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, two more than any other side, with 69% of their goals resulting from these situations.
"Arsenal can excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just afraid of them and it is great to see."
Title Potential
What is even more notable about Arsenal's beginning 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 ahead by four points at the top.
While they keep winning, their long-standing opponents are struggling. 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 expectations was on head coach Mikel Arteta at the start, having spent around £250m on eight summer additions in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far proven successful in style, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and boasting the tightest defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in three consecutive Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without allowing a goal
- Only three goals in 12 games across various contests
Former players and pundits have described Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now performing with conviction and determination.
