It's evident why Arsenal have become many people's preferred choice to secure the Premier League during this term.
Consider their outcomes against Newcastle and Crystal Palace versus those same matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them this time around, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Rearguard
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are looking well positioned to at last realize their title target.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), opposition efforts (72), dangerous chances allowed (19) and xGA (5.3).
The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the strongest in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their danger from dead balls is well known, but competing clubs still struggle to neutralize 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 resulting from these situations.
"Arsenal can excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a daunting aura. People are just fearful of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Claims
What is particularly remarkable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City in their own stadium - 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 expectations was on manager Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in search of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in style, with his side second top scorers in the league and possessing the most resilient defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Clean sheets in three consecutive Premier League games
- 385 minutes without letting in a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now performing with conviction and purpose.
