It's obvious why Arsenal have become many people's favorites to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Look at their outcomes against West Ham and Crystal Palace compared to those equivalent matches last season.
The Gunners have overcome all of them in the current season, but dropped 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race last season.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's defensive strength is a primary factor why they are seeming ready to ultimately achieve their title target.
They lead the league for clean sheets (6), goals conceded (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the best in the league, with Arsenal recording 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 struggle to stop 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 perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just afraid of them and it is wonderful to see."
Title Potential
What is even more notable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City at home - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they maintain victories, their long-standing opponents aren't faring so well. This marks the initial occasion 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 boss Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having invested around £250m on eight summer signings in quest 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 multiple injuries.
- Shutouts in each of their last three Premier League games
- 385 minutes without conceding a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and pundits have described Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and purpose.
