The evidence is undeniable why Arsenal have become countless pundits' top picks to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their performances against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have defeated all of them during this campaign, but lost 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 seeming ready to finally fulfil their title target.
They stand first for unbreached games (6), shots let in (3), shots faced (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the strongest in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Mastery
Their threat from set-pieces is well known, but opposition teams still don't know how to contain the Gunners from these situations.
They have scored 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 do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just afraid of them and it is great to see."
Title Claims
What is even more 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 in their own stadium - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their long-standing opponents face difficulties. This marks the first time 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 scrutiny was on boss Mikel Arteta at the outset, having allocated around £250m on eight summer additions in search of that coveted first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far paid off in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and having the most resilient defense, despite several injuries.
- Clean sheets in each of their last three Premier League games
- Over six hours without letting in a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and experts have characterized Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now functioning with belief and determination.
