It's clear why Arsenal are now many people's top picks to win the Premier League this season.
Look at their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those same matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have overcome all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race previously.
Defensive Strength
Arsenal's defensive strength is a primary factor why they are looking well positioned to ultimately achieve their title target.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the strongest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their threat from set-pieces is widely recognized, but competing clubs still struggle to contain the Gunners from these chances.
They have scored 11 times from set-pieces in the league, two more than any other side, with 69% of their goals resulting from these situations.
"Arsenal can perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just afraid of them and it is great to see."
Title Potential
What is especially remarkable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City at home - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they keep winning, their traditional rivals are struggling. This marks the initial occasion at this stage 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 signings 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 boasting the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Clean sheets in each of their last three Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without letting in a goal
- Only three goals in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and experts have described Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now functioning with conviction and purpose.
