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There's little doubt why Arsenal stand as many people's top picks to secure the Premier League in the current campaign.

Examine their performances against Newcastle and Crystal Palace in contrast with those equivalent matches during the prior term.

The Gunners have beaten all of them during this campaign, but dropped 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race previously.

Impenetrable Backline

Arsenal's backline resilience is a primary factor why they are looking well positioned to ultimately achieve their title ambition.

They stand first for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), quality opportunities against (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).

The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is possibly the strongest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games.

Set-Piece Mastery

Their danger from dead balls is well known, but opposition teams still struggle to stop the Gunners from these chances.

They have scored 11 times from set-pieces in the league, two more 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 wary of them and it is excellent to see."

Championship Pedigree

What is especially notable about Arsenal's start to the campaign is they have also faced 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 continue triumphing, their historic competitors are struggling. 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 pressure was on manager Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having spent around £250m on eight summer acquisitions 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 tightest defense, despite multiple injuries.

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

Former players and experts have labeled Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking hard to stop" with the whole club now performing with conviction and purpose.