It's evident why Arsenal stand as countless pundits' favorites to secure the Premier League this season.
Look at their outcomes against Fulham and Crystal Palace compared to those identical matches during the prior term.
The Gunners have overcome all of them this time around, but dropped 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race in the prior campaign.
Defensive Prowess
Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are appearing strong to at last realize their title ambition.
They rank top for unbreached games (6), goals allowed (3), shots faced (72), dangerous chances allowed (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the strongest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Excellence
Their effectiveness from free kicks is widely recognized, but rival sides still find it difficult to contain the Gunners from these situations.
They have scored 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 wary of them and it is wonderful to see."
Title Claims
What is particularly notable about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they maintain victories, their traditional rivals are struggling. 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 manager Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in remarkable manner, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and having the strongest defense, despite multiple injuries.
- Clean sheets in three consecutive Premier League games
- Over six hours without allowing a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across various contests
Former players and pundits have described Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and determination.