It's evident why Arsenal stand as many people's favorites to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their outcomes against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those same matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them in the current season, but dropped 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race previously.
Impenetrable Backline
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are seeming ready to at last realize their title goal.
They stand first for shutouts (6), goals allowed (3), attempts against (72), shots on target faced (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the best in the league, with Arsenal keeping 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 find it difficult to stop the Gunners from these opportunities.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals originating from these situations.
"Arsenal can perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just wary of them and it is wonderful to see."
Championship Pedigree
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 maintain victories, their historic competitors aren't faring so well. This marks the premier instance 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 head coach Mikel Arteta at the start, having invested around £250m on eight summer additions in pursuit of that coveted first title since 2004.
But the business has so far paid off in impressive fashion, with his side second top scorers in the league and having the tightest defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Clean sheets in three consecutive Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without allowing a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across various contests
Former players and analysts have labeled Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now performing with conviction and purpose.
