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It's evident why Arsenal stand as countless pundits' preferred choice to win the Premier League during this term.

Consider their outcomes against Newcastle and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches in the previous campaign.

The Gunners have beaten all of them in the current season, but lost 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.

Defensive Prowess

Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are appearing strong to ultimately achieve their title ambition.

They stand first for shutouts (6), shots let in (3), opposition efforts (72), dangerous chances allowed (19) and expected goals against (5.3).

The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially 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 well known, but opposition teams still struggle to stop the Gunners from these situations.

They have scored 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 daunting aura. People are just afraid of them and it is great to see."

Title Claims

What is even more remarkable about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United away from home and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still four points clear at the top.

While they keep winning, their long-standing opponents face difficulties. 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 expectations was on manager Mikel Arteta at the start, having allocated around £250m on eight summer additions in pursuit of that long-awaited first title since 2004.

But the business has so far paid off in style, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and possessing the strongest defense, despite multiple injuries.

• Clean sheets in each of their last three Premier League games
• 385 minutes without letting in a goal
• Only a trio of goals in 12 games across every tournament

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