It's clear why Arsenal have become many people's preferred choice to secure the Premier League in the current campaign.
Examine their outcomes against Newcastle and Crystal Palace in contrast with those same matches last season.
The Gunners have defeated all of them during this campaign, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race last season.
Defensive Dominance
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are seeming ready to ultimately achieve their title target.
They rank top for unbreached games (6), goals allowed (3), shots faced (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the finest in the league, with Arsenal recording a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Proficiency
Their danger from dead balls is highly documented, but rival sides still don't know how to neutralize the Gunners from these chances.
They have scored 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals coming 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 great to see."
Championship Claims
What is especially notable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City at home - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they maintain victories, their traditional rivals are struggling. This marks the initial occasion 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 boss Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far proven successful in impressive fashion, with his side second top scorers in the league and possessing the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without conceding a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and pundits have characterized Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now operating with conviction and determination.
