🔗 Share this article

It's clear why Arsenal have become numerous fans' preferred choice to secure the Premier League in the current campaign.

Consider their performances against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those equivalent matches in the previous campaign.

The Gunners have defeated all of them during this campaign, but lost 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race last season.

Impenetrable Backline

Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are seeming ready to ultimately achieve their title goal.

They rank top for clean sheets (6), goals conceded (3), shots faced (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).

The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the strongest in the league, with Arsenal recording a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.

Set-Piece Mastery

Their threat from set-pieces is well known, but opposition teams still find it difficult to contain 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 perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is great to see."

Championship Pedigree

What is particularly remarkable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City on home turf - and are still ahead by four points at the top.

While they maintain victories, their traditional rivals are struggling. 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 expectations was on manager Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having spent around £250m on eight summer additions in pursuit of that elusive first title since 2004.

But the investment has so far yielded results in style, with his side second top scorers in the league and having the most resilient defense, despite multiple injuries.

• Clean sheets in three straight Premier League games
• 385 minutes without allowing a goal
• Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across various contests

Former players and experts have described Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now performing with confidence and purpose.