Paul Arriola takes pride in being a bit of a ‘pest’

RENTON – Shortly after FC Dallas’ season ended, Paul Arriola was informed he was no longer in the team’s longterm plans and told he was free to test the market. Arriola quickly put together a list of places he’d like to go. Near the top was the Seattle Sounders.

Although Arriola had never spent any significant time in the Pacific Northwest, what he knew about the Sounders he liked. From his relationships with Cristian Roldan and Jordan Morris, Arriola knew he could fit into the locker room.

For a player that has never won a trophy at the club level, though, the Sounders’ legacy of success is what most attracted him.

“Watching Seattle compete, the one constant is always that the Sounders are competing for something,” Arriola told the media following the first day of preseason training. “As a player, I’ve lived various stages of my career – being a young guy, being a superstar, being a sub, playing for the national team, doing all these different things – and the one thing that I really want to do is win something on the club level.

“I’m really excited just to be a part of a club with the tradition of winning and having that level of standard from the fans to the organization to the players in the locker room. To be a part of something like that is really special and I think I can really help the team get to the next level and win championships this year.”

Arriola was so motivated to move to Seattle that he was even willing to accept a contract extension that will likely pay him about $1 million less per year than he was making at FC Dallas.

Even without an obvious place in the starting lineup, the Sounders couldn’t pass up that opportunity.

Arriola has been consistently productive when healthy, with 34 goals and 37 assists during eight MLS seasons. That included being named an All-Star in 2022 when he had 10 goals and seven assists in his first season with FC Dallas. He also has 50 caps and 10 goals with the United States national team as well as five seasons in Liga MX with Club Tijuana and a brief loan stint with Swansea City in the English Championship.

At each stop, Arriola has shown a willingness to play just about anywhere and do the extra things that might not always get on highlight reels but are greatly appreciated by teammates, and which tend to drive opponents a little crazy.

“Paul is just team-first guy,” said Morris, who said he considered Arriola one of his good friends after playing together with the USMNT and at Swansea. “He’s going to put his put his body on the line for the group.

“I know a lot of guys said before they didn’t like playing against him when he was with Dallas. He got under people’s skin a little bit and to have that on our team now I think is super important.”

Arriola seems to take particular pride in that aspect of his game. One of his first professional coaches was the legendary Miguel Herrera at Tijuana, who in his playing days was known as a hard-nosed defender. Like Herrera, Arriola is a bit undersized but makes up for that with intensity.

“I try to be as physical as I can,” Arriola said. “I try to be an annoying pest that doesn’t go away. Someone who continually runs at you, I try not to back down from any type of challenge. I’m always there to protect my teammates and be the guy that will pick them up.

“I’m going to do everything that I can to help my team win and ride that line as fast as I can. I believe that is what is going to drive us to do bigger things.”