There's no doubt why Arsenal are now many people's top picks to secure the Premier League during this term.
Examine their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those equivalent matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have beaten all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race in the prior campaign.
Impenetrable Rearguard
Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title target.
They stand first for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and expected goals against (5.3).
The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the best in the league, with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Mastery
Their effectiveness from free kicks is widely recognized, but rival sides still find it difficult to stop the Gunners from these chances.
They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals resulting from these situations.
"Arsenal can perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just afraid of them and it is wonderful to see."
Title Credentials
What is especially remarkable about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still ahead by four points 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 boss Mikel Arteta at the start, having spent around £250m on eight summer additions in quest of that long-awaited first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in impressive fashion, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and boasting the most resilient defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without conceding a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across all competitions
Former players and analysts have described Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now performing with belief and determination.
