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It's obvious why Arsenal stand as many people's preferred choice to win the Premier League in the current campaign.

Examine their results against West Ham and Crystal Palace in contrast with those same matches last season.

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

Impenetrable Rearguard

Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are seeming ready to at last realize their title target.

They rank top for unbreached games (6), shots let in (3), opposition efforts (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3).

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

Set-Piece Expertise

Their danger from dead balls is widely recognized, but rival sides still struggle to stop the Gunners from these opportunities.

They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional than any other side, with 69% of their goals coming 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."

Title Claims

What is especially impressive about Arsenal's commencement to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still ahead by four points at the top.

While they maintain victories, their traditional rivals are struggling. This marks the initial occasion 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 start, having spent around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in search of that elusive first title since 2004.

But the spending has so far proven successful in impressive fashion, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and having the strongest defense, despite several injuries.

• Clean sheets in three consecutive Premier League games
• 385 minutes without conceding a goal
• Only three goals in 12 games across various contests

Former players and experts have described Arteta's men as a "unstoppable force, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now operating with conviction and determination.