RENTON — When Paul Arriola was traded to the Seattle Sounders, it was seen as a fresh start of sorts. He didn’t imagine having to effectively start over.
Coming off a pair of somewhat frustrating seasons with FC Dallas that saw him fall out of favor, at this time last year Arriola seemed reinvigorated to be joining a Sounders team that had the type of title aspirations that had evaded him to that point in his career. With his trademark work ethic and positive attitude, Arriola quickly won over his new teammates and earned himself a starting spot in the season opener.
Jeremiah Oshan
Things hardly could have started better. He scored just three minutes into his Sounders debut, then scored again in his next start. Arriola was looking much more like the player who was one of the final cuts on the 2022 United States national team World Cup roster than one who Dallas was so willing to trade that they actually paid part of his salary.
But just a couple of weeks later, disaster struck. While chasing a ball that was seemingly destined to go out of bounds, Arriola planted awkwardly and immediately felt his knee give way. Having already once recovered from a torn ACL, Arriola knew exactly what had happened and let out a scream he now regrets was picked up by the field mics.
Instead of spending his first season in Seattle reviving his career, Arriola spent the year recovering from injury.
“It’s been obviously a rough year, and I think I’ve worked really hard to put myself in a good position to come back really strong for this season,” Arriola told reporters this week. “I feel really confident saying that I didn’t leave any stone unturned. I really pushed myself to the limits in order to be in this spot.”
Although Arriola said he “feels great,” he’s not quite back to 100%. The 31-year-old is still somewhat limited in training and isn’t expected to play in at least the first couple of preseason games.
After many months of working exclusively with the training staff, there’s an obvious joy to at least being on the field with teammates.
“I’m really excited to be out there with the guys,” he said. “Being able to run, just be normal, is something you take for granted. I’m just really grateful to be here and am willing to do anything.”
One thing that seems to have helped Arriola emotionally during this process is that he had pre-existing relationships with several Sounders. Arriola had previously been teammates with Jesús Ferreira with FC Dallas and had become fast friends with Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan through their USMNT involvement.
Roldan was particularly impressed with how Arriola handled the setback, noting that he was a constant presence in the locker room and stayed involved with the team throughout the recovery process.
“Paul has always been the person that brings the good energy, the good vibes,” Roldan said. “He was eager, he was working, he was disciplined. I think that’s what he brings to our locker room and the energy is just infectious. His standards are so high and we’re excited to have him back.”
Even after he’s considered fully healthy, Arriola still faces some serious challenges for playing time. Whether that’s as a wide midfielder or more of a wingback, the Sounders have plenty of options. Arriola doesn’t seem fazed.
“The beauty of being on such a competitive team is it’s gonna force you to be better,” he said. “That’s kind of what I'm looking forward to, the internal competition.”
