Julio Andrés Arca (born 31 January 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer, who played as a left-back or central midfielder.

During his professional career, he was seen as an attack-minded player, with his key attributes including good long and short passing, as well as being a hard worker.

[2][3] Born in Quilmes, Argentina, Arca began playing football when he was eleven and joined Argentinos Juniors when he was fourteen.

[4][3][5] He went on to progress at the Argentinos Juniors’ academy and made his debut three years later at age seventeen; which saw his side lose 7–1 loss against Independiente.

[8][9][10] It came after Peter Reid spotted him in a U21 match playing against England at Craven Cottage and tracked him until completing the signing in July 2000.

[4] Having missed the first three league matches, due to receiving his Italian passport, he was an immediate success, scoring on his debut at the Stadium of Light against West Ham United.

[23] Arca played for his previous club and national team at left-back but was successfully converted to left midfield by Reid.

[35] Riley's decision to disallow Arca's goal was criticised by then-club captain Michael Gray and Manager Peter Reid.

[54][55][56] At the end of the 2002–03 season, the club was relegated to the Championship, finishing at the bottom of the Premier League, and he went on to make eighteen appearances and scoring twice in all competitions.

[74][75][76][77] In the January transfer window Arca was linked a move away from Sunderland, prompting Manager McCarthy to rule out the sale.

[78][79] Arca himself showed his loyalty to the club, electing to stay [80] Following this, he then scored his fourth goal of the season, in a 3–1 win over Walsall on 3 March 2004.

[87][88][89] Ahead of the 2004–05 season, Arca was linked a move away from Sunderland, as Manager McCarthy predicted that he would leave the club should they failed to achieve promotion back to the Premier League.

[105][106] After being sidelined with another injury at the beginning of January, Arca didn't score again until on 19 February 2005, in a 2–1 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion.

[113][114][115] Throughout the season, Arca was arguably their best player as they returned to the Premiership under manager Mick McCarthy, winning the Football League Championship in 2004–05.

[121] At the start of the 2005–06 season, with Sunderland back in the Premier League, Arca continued to remain as first team regular, playing in the left–back position.

[133][134][135] In the January transfer window, Arca was linked a move away from the club, which he responded by stating that he has no intention of leaving Sunderland.

[136][137] Amid to the transfer move, Arca then scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Brentford in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

[149] Arca made his Premier League debut for Middlesbrough against Reading on the opening day of the 2006–07 season; he broke his foot and was substituted at half-time for Andrew Davies.

[150] After regaining fitness, Arca made his return to the first team, coming on as a late substitute, in a 1–0 win over Everton on 14 October 2006.

[167][168] Amid the transfer speculation, Arca continued to remain his first team place, playing in the midfield position at the start of the season.

[196][197][198] It wasn't until on 29 October 2008 when he made his return to the first team from injury, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute, in a 2–0 win over Manchester City.

[229] After missing one match, Arca made a return to the first team against Watford, where he set up an equalising goal for Lita, in a 1–1 draw.

[240][241][242] Arca then assisted three goals in three matches between 28 December 2010 and 3 January 2011 against Preston North End, Leeds United and Norwich City.

[259][260] After turning down a chance to return to Boca Juniors, Arca re-signed with a two-year contract on 12 August 2011, having previously been released at the beginning of that same transfer window[261][252][262] Two days after signing the contract, Arca came on as a substitute in an away league match at Leeds United and passed to Marvin Emnes to score the only goal of the game.

[296][297] The following season, Arca captained the side and played at the Wembley Stadium in the FA Vase Final, as they beat Cleethorpes Town 4–0.

[302][303] Arca was the captain of the Argentina Youth Team which featured players like Javier Saviola, Nicolás Burdisso and Maxi Rodríguez in the same squad.

[315] Three years later, Arca said that he hope he would receive a call-up from the senior team; using then Premier League players Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano as example.

[318] A 3–1 home defeat to local rivals Blyth Spartans proved the final straw for Arca as his side slipped to 8th in the table, marking their sixth game without a win.

[319] His father is Raúl Arca, who was also a footballer at Racing Club's Reserve Team but did not make an appearance and retired soon after, and has a younger brother.

[329] In 2019, Arca and his family moved back to Argentina, where he started a new business, Premier Sport Division, which helps sportspeople to relocate, transporting their lives across the world when they join new clubs.