There's little doubt why Arsenal have become numerous fans' favorites to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Look at their outcomes against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus 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 fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.
Defensive Dominance
Arsenal's defensive solidity is a crucial element why they are seeming ready to ultimately achieve their title ambition.
They stand first for clean sheets (6), goals allowed (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and xGA (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the best in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Proficiency
Their threat from set-pieces is widely recognized, but competing clubs still don't know how to neutralize 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 intimidation presence. People are just wary of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Potential
What is especially remarkable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City on home turf - and are still four points clear at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their traditional rivals are struggling. This marks the first time 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 head coach Mikel Arteta at the outset, having allocated around £250m on eight summer signings in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and possessing the strongest defense, despite multiple injuries.
- Unbreached games in three straight Premier League games
- Over six hours without conceding 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 hard to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and determination.
