It's evident why Arsenal have become countless pundits' favorites to win the Premier League during this term.
Look at their outcomes against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches last season.
The Gunners have beaten all of them in the current season, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race in the prior campaign.
Defensive Dominance
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are seeming ready to at last realize their title ambition.
They rank top for clean sheets (6), shots let in (3), opposition efforts (72), shots on target faced (19) and xGA (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.
Dead-Ball Dominance
Their danger from dead balls is highly documented, but competing clubs still struggle to contain the Gunners from these situations.
They have notched 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 fearful of them and it is great to see."
Title Potential
What is particularly remarkable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City on home turf - and are still four points clear at the top.
While they keep winning, their long-standing opponents face difficulties. This marks the first time 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 scrutiny was on manager Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in search of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the investment has so far yielded results in style, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and possessing the tightest defense, despite several injuries.
- Shutouts in each of their last three Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without letting in a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across various contests
Former players and pundits have characterized Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and determination.
