It's obvious why Arsenal stand as many people's preferred choice to claim the Premier League during this term.
Consider their outcomes against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus those equivalent matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have defeated all of them this time around, but dropped 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race last season.
Impenetrable Backline
Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title goal.
They stand first for shutouts (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), dangerous chances allowed (19) and xGA (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially 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 contain the Gunners from these opportunities.
They have registered 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 perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is great to see."
Title Credentials
What is even more remarkable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City on home turf - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they keep winning, 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 head coach Mikel Arteta at the start, having invested around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and boasting the most resilient defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Clean sheets 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 pundits have labeled Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and purpose.
