Arsenal defeated Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the highlight of this round of the Champions League, with Yockers making a double contribution. Arsenal's official website also wrote an article after the game praising the Swedish center:
Victor Yokeres continued his amazing start after joining Arsenal and scored the first two Champions League goals of his Gunners career against Atletico Madrid.
With his two goals in the second half, he became the 81st player in team history to score for us in this event. Since joining from Sporting CP in the summer window, he has scored 5 goals in 11 starts in all competitions.
His other three goals all came in the Premier League (two against Leeds United and one against Nottingham Forest), but the data proves that since the start of the season, his performance has been much more than just goals.
Leader in Premier League pressure statistics
After eight rounds of the Premier League, Victor leads the league in many statistics - both literally and figuratively. Opta looks at how and where players press during games and our Swedish striker tops the list in several categories. Whether he is pressing in the final third or pressing inside the opposition penalty area, the 27-year-old striker is setting the standard.
In terms of the number of pressures in the attacking third, Victor is far ahead, and he dominates our frontcourt pressing tactics:
Players with the most pressures in the attacking third:
Victor Yokeres Arsenal 319
Erling Haaland Manchester City 286
Igor Thiago Brentford 245
Evan Nelson Bournemouth 240
Joao Pedro Chelsea 232
Richarlison Tottenham 230
Chris Wood Nottingham Forest 226
In terms of high-intensity pressure in the final third (Opta defines it as a player within two meters of the opponent), our No. 14 also tops the list with 199 times. His pressure is strong enough to get into the tackling distance of the opponent and force him to play the ball quickly:
The player with the most high-intensity pressure in the final third
Victor Yockers Arsenal 199
Igor Thiago Brentford 185
Antoine Semenho Bournemouth 150
Jean-Philippe Mateta Crystal Palace 146
Joao Pedro Chelsea 142
Beto Everton 136
Erling Haaland Manchester City 133
Later, when the statistical scope was narrowed to the opponent's penalty area, Victor once again led in the number of pressures (147 times) and high-intensity pressures (90 times) - overwhelming Haaland and Evan Nelson, showing that he is a constant threat to the goalkeeper and defenders, not giving them time to calmly release the ball, nor allowing his teammates to easily return to the defensive position:
Ranking of players with the most pressures in the penalty area
Number of pressures, number of high-intensity pressures
Victor Yorkres 147, 90
Erling Haaland 139, 68
Evar Nelson 123, 62
Richarlison 110, 55
Chris Wood 104 , 55
Beto 91, 60
Joao Pedro 90, 57
Threat of running without the ball
Mikel Arteta has often talked about Victor's ability without the ball this season, and Opta's data on running without the ball has once again confirmed this.
In the Premier League so far this season, he has recorded the most number of runs into the opponent's penalty area without the ball, reaching 54 times. He also ranks third in the number of "post-run" runs without the ball (as defined by Opta) in the entire league with 92 times, second only to Brian Mbeumo and Ollie Watkins.
The player with the most runs into the penalty area without the ball
Victor Yockers Arsenal 54
Daniel Munoz Crystal Palace 45
Mohamed Salah Liverpool 41
Cody Gakpo Liverpool 40
Joao Pedro Chelsea 40
Goals and creative ability
But goals are the signature that Yorkres has become famous for in the past few years. He scored 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting CP last season, including six in the Champions League, which was enough for him to win the Gerd Müller Award (awarded to the continent's top scorer) in 2025 - he also scored nine goals for the Swedish national team that season.
He has had more shots (14) and more shots on target (7) than any other Arsenal player in the Premier League so far, and has also created 5 chances in open play (only 4 players have more). He has also hit the woodwork in both the Premier League and Champions League.
So our top goalscorer has certainly hit full steam ahead in his Gunners career - literally - and hopefully he can continue that good form when we face Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.