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There's little doubt why Arsenal are now countless pundits' favorites to secure the Premier League during this term.

Consider their outcomes against Newcastle and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches last season.

The Gunners have defeated all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they fell away in the title race in the prior campaign.

Defensive Prowess

Arsenal's defensive strength is a key reason why they are looking well positioned to ultimately achieve their title ambition.

They stand first for clean sheets (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), dangerous chances allowed (19) and expected goals against (5.3).

The defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba is potentially the finest in the league, with Arsenal keeping 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 don't know how to contain the Gunners from these opportunities.

They have scored 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 excel in various aspects now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is wonderful to see."

Championship Claims

What is even more notable about Arsenal's beginning 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 leading by four at the top.

While they maintain victories, their historic competitors aren't faring so well. This marks the first time 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 beginning, having invested around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in quest of that long-awaited first title since 2004.

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

• Clean sheets 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 every tournament

Former players and analysts have characterized Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now functioning with belief and resolve.