🔗 Share this article 'People are afraid' - why 'powerhouse' Arsenal are the team to beat. Gabriel Magalhaes marks Arsenal's win over Crystal Palace It's clear why Arsenal stand as numerous fans' top picks to win the Premier League during this term. Look at their outcomes against Fulham and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches in the previous campaign. The Gunners have beaten all of them this time around, but lost 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race last season. Impenetrable Rearguard Arsenal's backline resilience is a key reason why they are looking well positioned to at last realize their title goal. They lead the league for unbreached games (6), goals conceded (3), shots faced (72), quality opportunities against (19) and expected goals against (5.3). The center-back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the strongest in the league, with Arsenal maintaining a clean sheet in six of their first nine games. Set-Piece Proficiency Their danger from dead balls is well known, but opposition teams still don't know how to contain the Gunners from these opportunities. They have notched 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 perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just fearful of them and it is great to see." Championship Pedigree What is particularly notable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United on the road and Manchester City on home turf - and are still four points clear at the top. While they continue triumphing, their traditional rivals 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 start, having spent around £250m on eight summer acquisitions in quest of that elusive first title since 2004. But the investment has so far yielded results in style, with his side among the highest scorers in the league and having the most resilient defense, despite several injuries. Unbreached games in each of their last three Premier League games Nearly 6.5 hours without letting in a goal Only a handful of concessions in 12 games across every tournament Former players and analysts have labeled Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking difficult to stop" with the whole club now operating with conviction and purpose.