Chelsea captain John Terry believes his team have shown a killer instinct in the first few weeks of the Premier League season, as he has suggested a strong team ethic has been crucial in carrying them to a commanding lead at the top of the table.
The Blues headed into the international break five points clear of their nearest rivals Manchester City, with Terry suggesting their run of three clear sheets in a row is a sign that Jose Mourinho's team are functioning as a unit.
Sunday's 2-0 win against Arsenal backed up clean sheets in the Champions League against Sporting Lisbon and another against Aston Villa, with Terry convinced Mourinho has found a perfect balance in his side.
"We had the killer instinct going forward too so there was a bit of everything against a really good side," Terry told the Chelsea website as he reflected on the victory against the Gunners.
"Defensively we did very well but that's not just the back four or the back five. It's people like Eden [Hazard] and Andre [Schurrle] dropping in and coming back but being able to go forward as well. That's the key for me."
Clean sheets have been something of a rare commodity in a Premier League season that has been notable for a leap in the number of goals being scored, with Terry suggesting the quality of attacking players is the reason for those statistics.
"You can look at every team in the league and they are all conceding goals," added Terry. "That is because the quality in the Premier League is getting higher each year. It's as simple as that.
"When we conceded goals earlier on in the season everyone was questioning it, but it's going to happen. There are so many good teams and individuals in the league that we are going to concede goals.
"The important thing is that going forward we've got goals in us, as long as we're not conceding too many. We're maybe a little bit more attacking this year as well but we've had a few clean sheets on the bounce now and defensively we look very solid."