'People are intimidated' - why 'unstoppable force' Arsenal are the team to beat.

It's evident why Arsenal are now many people's favorites to secure the Premier League during this term.

Examine their outcomes against Fulham and Crystal Palace versus those equivalent matches last season.

The Gunners have defeated all of them in the current season, but surrendered 10 points across those games as they dropped off in the title race previously.

Defensive Dominance

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

They lead the league for shutouts (6), goals conceded (3), opposition efforts (72), quality opportunities against (19) and anticipated concessions (5.3).

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

Set-Piece Mastery

Their effectiveness from free kicks is well known, but opposition teams still struggle to neutralize the Gunners from these situations.

They have notched 11 times from set-pieces in the league, several additional 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 fear factor. People are just fearful of them and it is excellent to see."

Title Potential

What is especially notable about Arsenal's commencement 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 leading by four at the top.

While they continue triumphing, 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 outset, having invested around £250m on eight summer additions in pursuit of that coveted first title since 2004.

But the investment has so far paid off in impressive fashion, with his side second top scorers in the league and having 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 a handful of concessions in 12 games across various contests

Former players and pundits have described Arteta's men as a "powerhouse, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now performing with belief and purpose.