It's obvious why Arsenal are now numerous fans' preferred choice to secure the Premier League in the current campaign.
Consider their outcomes against Fulham and Crystal Palace versus those same matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them this time around, but dropped 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are appearing strong to at last realize their title ambition.
They rank top for shutouts (6), goals allowed (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 keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Proficiency
Their effectiveness from free kicks is widely recognized, but opposition teams still don't know how to stop the Gunners from these situations.
They have registered 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 excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just wary of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Potential
What is even more notable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City on home turf - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they maintain victories, their traditional rivals aren't faring so well. This marks the initial occasion 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 scrutiny was on boss Mikel Arteta at the outset, having spent around £250m on eight summer signings in pursuit of that coveted 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 tightest defense, despite multiple injuries.
- Clean sheets in each of their last three Premier League games
- Over six hours without letting in a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across various contests
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now functioning with confidence and purpose.
