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There's little doubt why Arsenal are now countless pundits' preferred choice to secure the Premier League this season.

Consider their performances against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus those same matches during the prior term.

The Gunners have overcome all of them this time around, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race in the prior campaign.

Impenetrable Rearguard

Arsenal's backline resilience is a crucial element why they are seeming ready to finally fulfil their title ambition.

They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals allowed (3), shots faced (72), shots on target faced (19) and expected goals against (5.3).

The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the best in the league, with Arsenal recording a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.

Dead-Ball Dominance

Their threat from set-pieces is highly documented, but opposition teams still struggle to contain the Gunners from these chances.

They have registered 11 times from set-pieces in the league, a couple extra 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 intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is excellent to see."

Championship Credentials

What is especially notable about Arsenal's commencement 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 keep winning, their long-standing opponents 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 scrutiny was on boss Mikel Arteta at the outset, having invested around £250m on eight summer additions in pursuit of that elusive first title since 2004.

But the spending has so far proven successful in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and having the strongest defense, despite multiple injuries.

• Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games
• Nearly 6.5 hours without conceding a goal
• Only a trio of goals in 12 games across various contests

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