Paul Arriola
Paul Joseph Arriola is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the United States national team.
Early life
Arriola was born in Chula Vista, California, a suburb of San Diego. He is an American of Mexican descent as his great grandparents immigrated to the United States from Mexico. His parents are Dawn and Art Arriola. Arriola attended Mater Dei Catholic High School in Chula Vista, CA. and iHigh Virtual Academy in San Diego.Club career
Youth
Arriola spent years with U.S. Soccer Development Academy club Arsenal FC based in Temecula, California, a club that has produced several successful players including Carlos Bocanegra and Hector Jiménez, before joining the academy of the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2013.Tijuana
In December 2012, Arriola was invited to train with Tijuana, after having previously trialed with the club. Following the 2012 season and despite being offered a professional contract by the Galaxy, Arriola opted to sign for Club Tijuana of Liga MX, the highest level of soccer in Mexico. Arriola was part of a string of American-born players to join the Xolos including Edgar Castillo, Herculez Gomez, Joe Corona, and Greg Garza. The Galaxy listed Tijuana's proximity to Arriola's hometown of San Diego, 18 miles, as one factor contributing to his decision to opt for Tijuana over the Galaxy. About his decision, Arriola himself stated, ""I felt that Xolos was the place for me. I love the club, it's my home team and the people down there are wonderful." The decision allowed Arriola to live on the United States side of the border with his family but cross it for training and matches.Arriola made his debut for the club in a preseason friendly against Club América at Petco Park in San Diego on July 6, 2013. In the 54th minute, Arriola scored to make the score 5–0 in an eventual 5–2 victory for Tijuana. On July 19, 2013 Arriola made his professional league debut in a 3–3 draw with Club Atlas to open the 2013–14 Liga MX season. Arriola was a second-half substitute and assisted on Darío Benedetto's goal only four minutes after entering the match. Just a few days later, Arriola scored his second professional goal in CONCACAF Champions League against C.D. Victoria.
D.C. United
On August 9, 2017, Arriola signed for Major League Soccer side D.C. United for a club record fee of $3,000,000 plus allocation money for his rights to LA Galaxy. Arriola debuted for United on August 13, 2017 in a 1–0 loss against Real Salt Lake. He scored his first goal for DC United in their season finale, and last game in RFK Stadium on October 22, 2017, against the New York Red Bulls. The game ended in a 2-1 loss. He ended his 2017 season with DC United with 11 appearances, two assists and only one goal. In the 2018 D.C. United season, Arriola's performances greatly improved. On July 14, 2018, in a 3-1 win against Vancouver Whitecaps, Arriola scored a personal record two goals for United in their inaugural match at Audi Field. He ended the 2018 season with 28 appearances, 7 goals, and 8 assists.Since joining D.C. United, Arriola has been a key player. His smooth playing and effort helped D.C. United perform. Under Ben Olsen's management, Paul became diverse on the right and started playing both right midfielder and right back.
During a 2020 pre-season game against Orlando City on February 15, 2020, Arriola suffered a serious knee injury. His injury was later revealed as a partially torn ACL. On February 22, 2020, D.C. United announced that Arriola will miss the entire 2020 MLS season.
On July 27, 2020, Arriola and D.C. United agreed to a multi-year contract extension through the 2023 season and an option for the 2024 season.
International career
Arriola has been part of the United States youth national team set ups and was part of the squad for the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship but did not appear in any matches because of an injury. The United States went on to win the tournament. He made three starts in four matches at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico. In 2013, Arriola joined the United States U18 squad for a trip to Europe for friendlies against France and Uruquay. Despite playing for the youth teams of the United States, Arriola applied for Mexican citizenship which would allow him to play as a domestic player in Liga MX rather than occupying one of the five foreign player spots.Arriola made the United States U20 squad at the 2014 Dallas Cup and 2014 NTC Invitational.
Arriola made the United States U20 squad for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, appearing in four of the team's five matches and scoring a goal in a 4–0 rout of hosts New Zealand in the group stage.
Arriola made the United States U23 squad for the Olympic qualifiers versus Colombia's U23 team. After not playing the first match on March 25, he started and played 45 minutes in the second leg at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The United States U23 lost the series 3–2 on aggregate.
.
Arriola made his senior team debut on May 22, 2016 against Puerto Rico, scoring his first international goal and notching an assist for a Bobby Wood goal.
Arriola scored his fourth international goal in the opening game of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Guyana at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The goal was assisted by fellow teammate Weston McKennie, his first international assist, and was the team's first goal of the tournament and the first goal scored in a competitive match under the recently-appointed coach Gregg Berhalter. In the same match, Arriola had a shot which deflected off a defender before ricocheting off of teammate Gyasi Zardes' face and into the goal and recorded an assist for Tyler Boyd's second goal.
Personal life
Paul is in a relationship with Akela Banuelos. They both run a YouTube channel together called He and his girlfriend own two pugs.Career statistics
Club
International
International goals
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | May 22, 2016 | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico | 1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 2 | September 6, 2016 | EverBank Field, Jacksonville, United States | 2 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 3 | February 2, 2019 | Avaya Stadium, San Jose, United States | 18 | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | |
| 4 | June 18, 2019 | Allianz Field, St. Paul, United States | 25 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup | |
| 5 | June 22, 2019 | FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, United States | 26 | 5–0 | 6–0 | 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
Honors
International
United States- CONCACAF Gold Cup : 2017