'People are fearful' - why 'juggernaut' Arsenal are the squad everyone fears.

It's obvious why Arsenal stand as countless pundits' preferred choice to claim the Premier League this season.

Look at their outcomes against West Ham and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches last season.

The Gunners have overcome all of them in the current season, but dropped 10 points across those games as they faded in the title race in the prior campaign.

Defensive Prowess

Arsenal's defensive strength is a primary factor why they are seeming ready to finally fulfil their title goal.

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

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

Set-Piece Proficiency

Their danger from dead balls is highly documented, but opposition teams still find it difficult to contain the Gunners from these opportunities.

They have scored 11 times from set-pieces in the league, two more than any other side, with 69% of their goals originating from these situations.

"Arsenal can perform multiple roles now. The whole team has a intimidation presence. People are just wary of them and it is excellent to see."

Title Claims

What is especially remarkable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City at home - and are still four points clear at the top.

While they maintain victories, their historic competitors face difficulties. This marks the premier instance 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 outset, having allocated around £250m on eight summer additions in search of that long-awaited 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 most resilient defense, despite multiple injuries.

• Clean sheets in three straight Premier League games
• Nearly 6.5 hours without conceding a goal
• Only a trio of goals in 12 games across all competitions

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