It's evident why Arsenal stand as countless pundits' preferred choice to win the Premier League during this term.
Examine their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those identical matches last season.
The Gunners have overcome all of them this time around, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.
Defensive Dominance
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are looking well positioned to finally fulfil their title target.
They rank top for clean sheets (6), goals conceded (3), opposition efforts (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the strongest in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Dominance
Their effectiveness from free kicks is highly documented, but competing clubs still don't know how to stop the Gunners from these situations.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals resulting 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 wonderful to see."
Championship Pedigree
What is even more impressive about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City at home - 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 stage of the season since 1992 that none of Manchester City and United, Liverpool or Chelsea are in the Premier League top four.
The scrutiny was on manager Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer signings in quest of that elusive 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 having the strongest defense, despite multiple injuries.
- Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games
- Over six hours without letting in a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and experts have characterized Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now operating with confidence and resolve.
