It's evident why Arsenal have become many people's top picks to secure the Premier League during this term.
Examine their outcomes against Fulham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those equivalent matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have overcome all of them in the current season, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Backline
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are appearing strong to finally fulfil their title target.
They stand first for unbreached games (6), shots let in (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the finest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Proficiency
Their threat from set-pieces is well known, but opposition teams still find it difficult to neutralize 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 excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just wary of them and it is wonderful to see."
Championship Credentials
What is even more impressive about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City on home turf - and are still four points clear at the top.
While they keep winning, their historic competitors are struggling. 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 pressure was on manager Mikel Arteta at the outset, having spent around £250m on eight summer signings in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the investment has so far yielded results in style, with his side second top scorers in the league and having the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Clean sheets in three consecutive Premier League games
- Over six hours without conceding a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and pundits have labeled Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now operating with conviction and resolve.
