It's clear why Arsenal are now many people's top picks to secure the Premier League this season.
Look at their performances against Fulham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those identical matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have beaten all of them in the current season, but dropped 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race in the prior campaign.
Defensive Dominance
Arsenal's defensive strength is a crucial element why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title ambition.
They rank top for shutouts (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), shots on target faced (19) and xGA (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the best in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Proficiency
Their threat from set-pieces is well known, but opposition teams still find it difficult to stop 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 originating from these situations.
"Arsenal can perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is excellent to see."
Championship Pedigree
What is even more notable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City on home turf - and are still ahead by four points at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their traditional rivals are struggling. 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 head coach 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 paid off in style, with his side second top scorers in the league and possessing the tightest defense, despite several injuries.
- Clean sheets in three consecutive Premier League games
- Over six hours without conceding a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and pundits have labeled Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now functioning with confidence and determination.
