There's little doubt why Arsenal stand as many people's preferred choice to secure the Premier League this season.
Look at their outcomes against Newcastle and Crystal Palace compared to those identical matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race previously.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are appearing strong to at last realize their title ambition.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the finest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their threat from set-pieces is well known, but rival sides still struggle 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 excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a daunting aura. People are just fearful of them and it is excellent 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 in their own stadium - 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 initial occasion at this juncture 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 investment has so far yielded results in remarkable manner, with his side one of the most prolific attacks in the league and possessing the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in three straight Premier League games
- 385 minutes without letting in a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and analysts have described Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now performing with confidence and purpose.
