The evidence is undeniable why Arsenal are now many people's preferred choice to win the Premier League this season.
Examine their results against Newcastle and Crystal Palace versus those same matches in the previous campaign.
The Gunners have overcome all of them during this campaign, but lost 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race last season.
Defensive Prowess
Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are appearing strong to finally fulfil their title ambition.
They rank top for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), opposition efforts (72), shots on target faced (19) and xGA (5.3).
The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the best in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.
Set-Piece Mastery
Their threat from set-pieces is highly documented, but rival sides still don't know how to neutralize the Gunners from these chances.
They have notched 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 perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a fear factor. People are just wary of them and it is excellent to see."
Title Claims
What is particularly impressive about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City at home - and are still leading by four at the top.
While they keep winning, their historic competitors aren't faring so well. This marks the premier instance 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 expectations was on manager Mikel Arteta at the outset, having spent around £250m on eight summer additions in pursuit of that elusive first title since 2004.
But the spending has so far yielded results in remarkable manner, with his side one of the most prolific attacks in the league and boasting the strongest defense, despite multiple injuries.
- Shutouts in three consecutive Premier League games
- Nearly 6.5 hours without allowing a goal
- Only a trio of goals in 12 games across various contests
Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now operating with belief and purpose.
