It's evident why Arsenal are now many people's top picks to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those identical 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 fell away in the title race last season.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are looking well positioned to finally fulfil their title target.
They rank top for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the strongest in the league, with Arsenal recording a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Proficiency
Their effectiveness from free kicks is well known, but opposition teams still struggle to stop the Gunners from these chances.
They have notched 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 perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just afraid of them and it is excellent to see."
Championship Pedigree
What is particularly impressive about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also encountered Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City at home - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they keep winning, their traditional rivals 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 expectations was on head coach Mikel Arteta at the outset, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in search of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far proven successful in style, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and having the most resilient defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games
- 385 minutes without allowing a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and experts have characterized Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now functioning with belief and determination.
