🔗 Share this article 'People are afraid' - the reasons 'juggernaut' Arsenal are the squad everyone fears. Gabriel Magalhaes rejoices Arsenal's victory over Crystal Palace It's evident why Arsenal have become countless pundits' preferred choice to win the Premier League in the current campaign. Consider their results against Newcastle and Crystal Palace versus those identical matches last season. The Gunners have defeated 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 Dominance Arsenal's defensive strength is a primary factor why they are appearing strong to finally fulfil their title goal. They rank top for clean sheets (6), goals conceded (3), attempts against (72), dangerous chances allowed (19) and xGA (5.3). The central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba is arguably the strongest in the league, with Arsenal recording a clean sheet in six of their first nine games. Dead-Ball Dominance Their threat from set-pieces is well known, but rival sides still struggle to neutralize the Gunners from these situations. They have scored 11 times from set-pieces in the league, two more 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 intimidation presence. People are just wary of them and it is wonderful to see." Championship Pedigree What is even more remarkable about Arsenal's beginning to the campaign is they have also played Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United at opposition grounds and Manchester City in their own stadium - and are still four points clear at the top. While they continue triumphing, their long-standing opponents face difficulties. This marks the premier instance 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 head coach Mikel Arteta at the beginning, having allocated around £250m on eight summer additions in search of that long-awaited first title since 2004. But the spending has so far paid off in remarkable manner, with his side second top scorers in the league and boasting the strongest defense, despite several injuries. Clean sheets in three straight Premier League games Over six hours without letting in a goal Only a trio of goals in 12 games across all competitions Former players and pundits have characterized Arteta's men as a "juggernaut, looking challenging to stop" with the whole club now functioning with conviction and purpose.