Michael Arroyo


Michael Antonio Arroyo Mina is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays for Barcelona SC of the Ecuadorian Serie A, and the Ecuadorian national team as an attacking midfielder.

Club career

Emelec

Michael Arroyo started his career in the youth ranks of Emelec. He was seen as a very talented player for his age, and played 73 times for Emelec. However, in September 2007, he tested positive for marijuana shortly after a league match with Deportivo Cuenca, and was banned for two years from football.

Deportivo Quito

2009

He moved to the nation's capital in January 2009 to play for Deportivo Quito. He made his debut three months later in a game against Liga de Portoviejo, scoring a brace in a 2–0 home win. Arroyo scored his next goal with Deportivo on 20 May in a 2–0 home win over Deportivo Cuenca. Next he scored against Manta. His fourth goal of the season came against Tecnico Universitario. A week later he scored in a 2–0 away win against Olmedo. On 26 July, Arroyo scored the winning goal against his old club, Emelec. He scored against Macara on 18 October, in a 1–0 win. He won the 2009 Ecuadorian Serie A league against Deportivo Cuenca in a 3–2 comeback, scoring two goals, one which was the winning goal at the 87th minute, thus winning his first career title. Arroyo scored 10 goals in 17 league games played.

2010

Arroyo began his 2010 season in a 1–1 away draw against Emelec. He scored his first goal on 28 March in a 1–1 away win against Universidad Catolica. On 5 April, he scored his second, in a 2–0 home win over Macara. His third goal came against Olmedo, in a 2–0 away win on 17 April. On 25 May, Michael scored his fourth and final goal of the season with Deportivo Quito, winning 2–1 away against Macara. After impressive displays in the Serie A, he signed for San Luis in Mexico.

San Luis

2010–2012

On 28 May, Arroyo was transferred to San Luis of the Primera División de México after impressing them with his ability on the ball and powerful long-shot goals. His debut came on 24 July, in a 1–1 draw against Monterrey. He scored goals against Tecos UAG, Querétaro, Necaxa, and Toluca in the Apertura tournament. In the next season he would go on to score goals against Guadalajara, Monarcas Morelia, Atlas and Pachuca. In his Copa Libertadores participation with the Mexican club in 2011, he scored two goals against a Peruvian club, the first one a volley goal from 25 yards; he also assisted the first goal in a 3–1 home victory for San Luis.

Atlante

2012

On 30 November 2011, Arroyo was transferred to Atlante. He scored a free-kick goal against his old club San Luis, which he chose not to celebrate. He also scored three more goals that season against Guadalajara, UAG and Jaguares de Chiapas. His last game with Atlante was a 0–3 loss against Monterrey. In the summer of 2012, he was loaned out to Barcelona SC in Ecuador, even though he had played for city rivals Emelec for many years.

Barcelona SC (loan)

2012

His debut came in a 2–1 win over his youth career club, Emelec, winning Ecuador's Clasico. Arroyo's first goal for Barcelona came on 19 September, in a 4–3 win over Chilean side Cobreloa, scoring two long range goals. His first two league goals for Barcelona came on 30 September, against Jose Teran, in a 2–2 draw. On 4 November, Arroyo scored a goal from the penalty spot in a 5–0 home win against Emelec. On 28 November, Arroyo became 2012 Serie A champion with Barcelona SC, after nearly fourteen years since Barcelona last won the league title.

2013

For the 2013 Ecuadorian Serie A season, Arroyo was handed the jersey number 7. His first match of the season came on 26 January, in a 1–1 away draw against Deportivo Quevedo. On 16 February, Arroyo was given a red card for punching an opponent in the face. On 27 February, he scored his first goal the season, from the penalty spot, already losing to Boca Juniors 2–0, to make it 2–1. Nearly a month later he scored his first league goal of the season in a 4–0 home win over Deportivo Cuenca. On 21 April, Arroyo was given two immediate yellow cards by the referee. He was later also given a three-match ban and missed the matches against Emelec, LDU Quito, and Deportivo Cuenca. On his return, Arroyo scored a free-kick goal with Barcelona defeating Universidad Catolica 6–2.
On 13 July, he scored the lone goal in a 3–1 loss to Universidad Catolica. A week later he scored in the 3–3 draw against Deportivo Cuenca. On 21 July, Arroyo scored a double to tie against LDU Quito. On 15 September, Arroyo scored against Deportivo Quito, winning 2–1. Four days later Arroyo scored against Independiente del Valle, drawing 1–1. On 22 September, Michael scored the second in the 2–1 home win over Deportivo Quito.

Return to Atlante

In 2014, Arroyo returned to Atlante. On 10 March, Arroyo scored four goals against Querétaro, winning the match 4–2. He finished the Clausura tournament scoring eight goals in sixteen matches played.

Club América

On 15 July 2014, it was announced that Arroyo would be joining league giants América on loan. Arroyo scored his first Liga MX goal of the season on October 2, defeating Veracruz 2–0. On December 14, for the final championship title against Tigres UANL, Arroyo scored the first goal of the second–leg final match, defeating Tigres 3–0, and won the Apertura 2014 championship title, Arroyo's first title in Mexico. He was also voted as the Final Match MVP by Liga MX officials. Arroyo has had a roller coaster of sorts with Club America.
He's been a fan favorite due to his flashy skills and clutch free kicks, however due to his tactical indiscipline he has been unable to make himself an undisputed starter throughout the Turco era, Matosas era, Nacho era or the Lavolpe era. Arroyo was not on the transfer list following the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup however he's been having to fight for a match day spot due to the 10 foreigner/8 national rule Liga MX has implemented.

Grêmio

A surprise move to the Brazilian club Grêmio signing a 3-year contract that will expire in 2019.

International career

Arroyo played for the Ecuador U-20 side in the South American Youth Championship 2007. He scored a goal in Ecuador's 3–1 win against Venezuela. On May 8, 2010 Arroyo received his first call up to the national team and started and played 90 minutes against Mexico, being named man of the match before being subbed out.
He scored his first goal for the major Ecuador national football team on May 28, 2011 against Mexico. The match finished 1–1. Arroyo scored an impressive long-range shot against England coming in as a 2nd half substitute for Jefferson Montero. In the 2014 FIFA World Cup against Switzerland at 3:12 of added time he had an open shot on goal to seal a win for Ecuador and chose to stop and control the ball giving defenders time to close and block his shot. On the immediate counterattack Switzerland scored a goal sealing a win and 3 points. He did not play the next World Cup game for Ecuador.

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreFinalCompetition
128 May 2011CenturyLink Field, Seattle, United States1–11–1International friendly
21 June 2011BMO Field, Toronto, Canada2–12–2International friendly
3June 4, 2014Sun Life Stadium, Miami, United States2–22–2International friendly
429 March 2016Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia1–31–32018 FIFA World Cup qualification
516 June 2016CenturyLink Field, Seattle, United States1–21–2Copa América Centenario

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Club

;Deportivo Quito
;Barcelona SC
;América
;Grêmio