Daniel Arzani


Daniel Arzani is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Manchester City, and the Australian national team.

Club career

Sydney FC

Daniel Arzani played for the youth team of Sydney FC in 2016.

Melbourne City FC

2016–17 season

Arzani started playing for Melbourne City in 2016. On 28 January 2017, Arzani scored a goal for Melbourne City Youth in the Grand Final to win the 2016–17 A-League National Youth League.

2017–18 season

On 6 January 2018 during their 2017–18 season, Arzani was brought on as a substitute with the senior side and provided two assists in a 2–1 comeback win against Wellington Phoenix FC. He provided two more assists in his first senior start on 9 January against Perth Glory FC. Arzani scored his first A-League goal on 25 January 2018 against Newcastle Jets FC. After just four starts from his club's 18 league games, Arzani led his team for the most successful dribbles with 31. He won the A-League player of the month award for his performances in January. By April 2018, Arzani led the league in successful dribbles with 89, provided the most assists out of all under-23 players in the league, and was nominated for the A-League Young Footballer of the Year award. At the conclusion of the season, it was announced that he won the award. He was subsequently named in the A-League Team of the Season. In July 2018, Arzani won the Harry Kewell Medal for the best Australian male under-23 player.

Manchester City

On 9 August 2018, Arzani moved from Melbourne City to fellow City Football Group club Manchester City, with his new club indicating they intended to loan him to another side.

Loan to Celtic

On 17 August 2018, Arzani was loaned to Scottish champions Celtic on a two-year loan deal. Arzani scored a free kick for the Celtic Academy on 17 September 2018 against Aberdeen. He was given his first team debut by manager Brendan Rodgers on 31 October 2018 in a Scottish Premiership match against Dundee. He suffered a torn ACL on debut, ruling him out for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and the rest of the Celtic season, as well as the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship. Arzani made his return from injury on 17 September 2019 in a Celtic reserves match against Hibernian. He made his return to the Celtic first team on 18 January 2020 under manager Neil Lennon in a Scottish Cup match against Partick Thistle.

International career

Youth

Arzani has played for Australia at the under-17, under-20 and under-23 levels, and was called into Australia's 2014 AFC U-16 Championship and 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup squads. Due to his Iranian heritage, Arzani was eligible to represent both Iran and Australia at international level. In February 2018, Arzani stated that he was leaning more towards representing Australia over Iran.
Arzani returned to the under-23 team in October 2019 for Australia's Olympic qualifying preparations ahead of the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship. Manager Graham Arnold stated Arzani would be missing the tournament due to his ongoing recovery process before noting that he could be added to their Olympic squad should Australia qualify.

Senior

At the age of 19, Arzani was called into Australia's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 7 May 2018. He made his international debut for Australia as an 84th-minute substitute for Mathew Leckie in a friendly match against the Czech Republic on 1 June 2018. He was named in Bert van Marwijk’s final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup the following day, becoming the youngest ever Australian player in a World Cup squad as well as the youngest player overall at the 2018 World Cup. Arzani scored his first international goal for Australia one minute after being substituted on in the next friendly match for a 2–1 win against Hungary on 9 June 2018. He made his World Cup debut on 16 June 2018 as an 84th minute substitute against France. At the age of 19 years and 163 days he became the youngest player to ever make a World Cup appearance for Australia. Arzani was used as a substitute in all three World Cup matches against France, Denmark and Peru.

Style of play

Arzani has been praised for his quick speed and skillful dribbling, capable of playing across either wing or in behind the striker. He played street football and futsal from a young age.

Outside football

Personal life

Born in Iran to Sima and John Arzani along with his brother Ben, Daniel moved to Australia with his family at the age of seven and was raised in Sydney before moving to Melbourne. He is fluent in English and Persian. Arzani is a former student of Sydney Boys High School and La Trobe University.

Sponsorship

Arzani has a contract with American sportswear supplier Nike.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
19 June 2018Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary21–02–1Friendly

Honours

Club

Melbourne City
Celtic