The evidence is unmistakable why Arsenal stand as many people's preferred choice to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace compared to those equivalent matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have defeated all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race last season.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are seeming ready to at last realize their title goal.
They stand first for shutouts (6), shots let in (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The center-back duo 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.
Dead-Ball Excellence
Their effectiveness from free kicks is highly documented, but opposition teams still don't know how to stop the Gunners from these chances.
They have registered 11 times from set-pieces in the league, a couple extra 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 wary of them and it is great to see."
Title Potential
What is even more impressive about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also encountered Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still four points clear at the top.
While they keep winning, their long-standing opponents aren't faring so well. This marks the premier instance at this point 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 manager Mikel Arteta at the outset, having invested around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that coveted first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in remarkable manner, with his side one of the most prolific attacks in the league and boasting the strongest defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Unbreached games in three straight Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without letting in a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and determination.
