It's clear why Arsenal are now many people's preferred choice to win the Premier League during this term.
Examine their performances against Fulham and Crystal Palace versus those same matches last season.
The Gunners have beaten all of them this time around, but dropped 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.
Defensive Dominance
Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title goal.
They rank top for clean sheets (6), goals allowed (3), attempts against (72), shots on target faced (19) and expected goals against (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.
Dead-Ball Superiority
Their danger from dead balls is highly documented, but competing clubs still find it difficult to neutralize the Gunners from these situations.
They have scored 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 do a bit of everything now. The whole team has a daunting aura. People are just wary of them and it is wonderful to see."
Title Credentials
What is even more impressive about Arsenal's start 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 ahead by four points at the top.
While they maintain victories, their traditional rivals aren't faring so well. This marks the initial occasion 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 outset, having allocated around £250m on eight summer additions in quest of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the business has so far yielded results in style, with his side second top scorers in the league and boasting the strongest defense, despite several injuries.
- Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games
- Over six hours without conceding a goal
- Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across various contests
Former players and analysts have described Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now operating with confidence and purpose.
