It's obvious why Arsenal are now numerous fans' favorites to win the Premier League in the current campaign.
Examine their outcomes against Newcastle and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them during this campaign, but surrendered 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 appearing strong to finally fulfil their title goal.
They lead the league for clean sheets (6), goals conceded (3), shots faced (72), quality opportunities against (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).
The center-back duo 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.
Dead-Ball Excellence
Their danger from dead balls is widely recognized, but opposition teams still find it difficult to stop the Gunners from these chances.
They have registered 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals originating 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 excellent to see."
Title Claims
What is even more impressive about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City at home - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they continue triumphing, their long-standing opponents are struggling. This marks the premier instance 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 pressure was on manager Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer signings in pursuit of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far proven successful in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and having the tightest defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Unbreached games in three straight Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without conceding a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and analysts have characterized Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now performing with confidence and determination.
