Julio Andres Arca was born on the 31st of January 1981 in Quilmes, Argentina. He signed for Sunderland in the summer of 2000 for £3.5 million from Argentinos Juniors. He was a very popular player for Sunderland. He usually played on the left wing, but on occasion played at left back or in centre midfield. He was vital part of the Sunderland team that won promotion in The 2004/2005 Season. In the summer of 2006, after 6 seasons with Sunderland, he decided, for the good of his career, he had to leave the relegated club. He turned down interest from Newcastle and decided to sign for local rivals Middlesbrough for £1.75 million. His agent is his former teammate and former Sunderland player Stefan Schwarz.

Sunderland

Arca joined Sunderland in July 2000 from Argentinos Juniors for £3.5m. Peter Reid held off competition from Newcastle and Leeds to sign him. Arca was an instant success at The Stadium of Light, scoring on his debut against West Ham. Like nearly every Sunderland player, he struggled in The 2001/2002 Season. After 2 consecutive 7th place finishes in The F.A. Premier League, and with their squad as strong as ever, players, pundits and fans all expected Sunderland's 2001/2002 Season to be a chase for Europe. However, because of nearly every player's struggling performances, the season was spent battling relegation. Sunderland evetually finished 17th, avoiding relegation by one place. Arca, and the whole team, performed even worse in The 2002/2003 Season, as Sunderland finished bottom of theleague with a record low 19 points.

The summer of 2003 saw a mass exodus from Sunderland, as all the best players left. However, Arca stayed and was determined to regain the great form he had first shown at Sunderland.

He was Sunderland's best player as they stabilised themselves in Division 1 in The 2003/2004 Season, and they reached the Play Offs, only to be beaten by Crystal Palace. That season he was named in the Division 1 Team Of The Season and was named as Sunderland's Player Of The Season.

As Sunderland won The Football League Championship in The 2004/2005 Season, Arca again starred. His performances, and 9 goals, from left midfield were key to Sunderland's success, and he narrowly missed out on the Player Of The Season award, coming second to Dean Whitehead.

Sunderland's 2005/2006 Season in The F.A. Premier League was even worse than their last Premier League season. They came bottom again, this time with 15 points, breaking their own record for fewest points in a season. Arca was one of the few Sunderland players who impressed, even though he often had to play at left back to cover for the long term injury victim George McCartney, and struggled with injuries himself.

At the end of the season, Premeir League clubs and Sunderland's local rivals Middlesbrough and Newcastle both made bids for Arca. With Sunderland in a lot of debt, both bids were reluctantly accepted, because Sunderland needed the money. Arca spoke to both Newcastle and Middlesbrough. Out of respect for Sunderland, he decided he coould not join Newcastle, and decided to join Middlesbrough instead. Middlesbrough's bid was £1.75 million, and they agreed personal terms with Arca. Annoyingly, several weeks later Sunderland were bought by the Drumaville Consortium, who paid off all of Sunderland's debts, making Arca's sale unnecessary.

He has played for Middlesbrough ever since.