The evidence is unmistakable why Arsenal have become many people's top picks to secure the Premier League this season.
Examine their results against Newcastle and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches last season.
The Gunners have beaten all of them during this campaign, but lost 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Defense
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title target.
They rank top for clean sheets (6), shots let in (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the finest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their danger from dead balls is highly documented, but competing clubs still struggle to contain 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 coming from these situations.
"Arsenal can do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just afraid of them and it is great to see."
Championship Credentials
What is particularly notable about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also faced 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 maintain victories, their long-standing opponents aren't faring so well. This marks the premier instance 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 pressure was on manager Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having allocated around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in quest of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in style, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and having the strongest defense, despite numerous injuries.
- Shutouts in each of their last three Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without conceding a goal
- Only three goals in 12 games across every tournament
Former players and analysts have described Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now functioning with conviction and purpose.
