It's obvious why Arsenal stand as many people's favorites to secure the Premier League in the current campaign.
Look at their performances against Fulham and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches last season.
The Gunners have defeated all of them during this campaign, but lost 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race last season.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are appearing strong to finally fulfil their title target.
They lead the league for unbreached games (6), shots let in (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the finest in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Mastery
Their threat from set-pieces is well known, but rival sides still don't know how to stop the Gunners from these opportunities.
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 do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just afraid of them and it is excellent to see."
Championship Credentials
What is particularly notable about Arsenal's start 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 continue triumphing, their historic competitors are struggling. This marks the premier instance 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 invested around £250m on eight summer signings in quest of that coveted first title since 2004.
But the investment has so far paid off in style, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and possessing the tightest defense, despite several injuries.
- Clean sheets in three consecutive Premier League games
- 385 minutes without conceding a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and pundits have described Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and determination.
