Guayaquil City’s Roger Arias could develop into a high-level ball-playing centre-back

Ecuador are currently blessed with high quality left-sided centre-backs as Independiente Del Valle academy products, Piero Hincapie and William Pacho occupy the roles for the Ecuadorian National Team with the former currently plying his trade in Europe while the latter is on the cusp of a move to Europe. Both are under the age of 21 as Ecuador will be well-stocked at this blue-chip position for the next decade. However, Ecuador could have a high-level left-sided centre-back in Roger Arias who is not even currently playing at centre-back as he has played as left wing-back, left-back and now occupies a left-back position which allows him to remain deep, tuck inside and distribute possession from more central positions. The 21-year-old has the potential to be one of the most press-resistant left-sided centre-backs on the South American continent.

Arias is short in stature while being nimble on his feet but struggles in the left wing-back position as he does not have the blistering pace to cover the flank effectively while moving him to the flank negates one of his greatest strengths. Arias’ distribution is impeccable as when he is playing at left wing-back, he rarely has the passing angles or passing options to make use of his gifts which makes him ineffective. As a left-back, his distribution is also negated as the passing angles to work the ball through the lines are less available as Guayaquil City are currently playing him in a role as a left-back/left-sided centre-back in a three-chain hybrid position where he tucks inside to receive possession and distribute the ball but has to shoulder the defensive responsibility of being a left-back while also having to overlap in certain situations.

Another reason that Arias is ineffective in a left wing-back or left-back position is that he is poor at defending 1v1s against quicker wingers, constantly being beaten in the wide areas for skill and pace, even in tighter zones by the by-line or touchlines. Wingers can cover for him but there are also situations where he is caught tucking inside too tight which allows an opposition winger space to gain momentum and evade him with trickery or skill. This is not to say that Arias is poor defender, rather that he is just being misused. In terms of regaining possession, Arias has tremendous anticipation, pushing ahead of players to regain possession with interceptions while he thrives at winning possession when an opposition player receives possession and the 21-year-old Ecuadorian could use a subtle nudge and lunge to win possession and drive the ball forward. These attributes all suit a centre-back role while he is also comfortable in winning possession in the box with well-timed tackles as from a defensive standpoint, it is clear that he belongs in a centre-back role as this is clear before you even get to his immense qualities in possession.

Away to Universidad Catolica, he was playing in a left-wing back position as he was caught in a 1v1 situation against his attacker on the left flank as his marker tried to skip past him but Arias used his body to shield the ball before poking possession to a teammate to win possession as he received the ball again to calmly lob a pass out of pressure to a runner in the channels. In possession, Arias would then show his press resistance by receiving possession close to the touchline with two opposition attackers rushing to close him down as he controlled the ball with his right foot and lobbed a pass to a teammate in the next line with his left before receiving possession to control possession with his left and playing a pass to his teammate with the same foot as he received possession and had a pass with his right foot intercepted.

Even though he was positioned on the left flank, some of his centre-back traits were still showing as his ability to receive possession with both feet, even his weaker right foot as well as his anticipation as there was one situation where the ball was switched to his flank as he slid in front of his marker to block the ball and clear the pass. The 21-year-old would then receive possession on the left flank, under pressure again before he switched a pass to the opposite flank to put his side on the counter. Arias’ passing range is phenomenal as he can thread passes through tight lines of pressure, switch balls to the opposite flank while he can also cross the ball with accuracy if given the opportunity. He would receive possession again to thread an accurate pass through tight lines with his right foot after receiving possession with his left. Receiving possession with one foot and passing with the other is a staple of his game as he is incredibly comfortable in possession, even in tight spaces or under intense pressure.

Arias would then create a high-quality opportunity for his side when he received possession on the overlap to launch an accurate cross into the box which was headed straight at the keeper. This is one of the reasons that Arias is probably being utilized as a left wing-back, due to his ability to cross when he is on the overlap but during games, he rarely has the opportunity to get on the overlap while if he is on the overlap and possession is lost, he does not have the speed to recover and regain possession. During games, it is obvious that he is most effective when he is distributing possession with raking line-breaking passes in between the lines, threading passes through the needle to the six-space and working connections to drive the ball forward into space. These were just a few moments in an otherwise uninspiring performance as he lost the ball in trying to combine with teammates in the wide areas, he struggled to carry the ball effectively down the line while in some situations, he was not able to receive possession.

One area that the 21-year-old would need to improve is in his ball-carrying as he does not use his low centre of gravity and body to shield the ball, showing too much of the ball when he drives the ball forward as he can sometimes lose possession this way. He is also nimble which allows him to skip away from opponents as the more he tucks into the centre, the more comfortable he is becoming with receiving possession in the opposition half or driving the ball forward. As he has started to operate in a more central position, one can begin to see the full extent of Arias’ talent as a ball-playing centre-back. Away to Barcelona SC, his team would regain possession when he was tucked inside to drive forward with possession from his own box to the left touchline before swivelling his hips and threading a pass past three players into the centre. Arias would then receive possession on the left flank, controlling possession with his chest before pushing the ball forward and pinging an accurate long pass onto the foot of an attacker in the left channel.

In the build-up phase, his team lost possession with a pass that was intercepted as the opposition looked to play the ball into his zone as Arias had the speed of thought to step in front of his marker to make a timely interception to regain possession. He would receive possession on the left flank to hold the ball for a second and roll a pass for a runner in the left channel. The 21-year-old then should his ball-carrying, regaining possession by the touchline to surge deep into the opposition half, prodding the ball forward with his left foot before shifting the ball to his right foot and driving a shot wide. Arias was then perfectly positioned to win an interception before playing a pass to his teammate in the centre to start a counter-attack. Arias is also really intelligent at working passing connections to play the ball forward as he received possession to work a pass to a teammate in the centre before receiving possession again to play a pass down the line.

In a similar move, a few moments later, he received possession to thread a pass to a teammate in the centre before receiving possession again to switch a ball to the other midfielder in the six-space. Arias would then receive possession, tucked inside in the opposition half as he allowed the ball to roll across his body before pushing it forward and lobbing an accurate pass into the box for his striker to lay-off the ball as his side eventually had a shot which was blocked before Arias would regain possession in the counter-press. The 21-year-old would then receive possession on the left flank to swivel past his marker and play an accurate pass down the line. Arias has mastered the motoring skills of being a press-resistant ball-playing centre-back as he is not just strong with his distribution but also with the minute details like turning and passing under pressure as well as also playing one-touch passes under pressure. He would receive a pass in the left-back position to play a one-touch pass into the centre as he sensed an opposition attacker pushing forward to apply pressure.

The 21-year-old would show his potential for ball-carrying and shielding the ball to receive possession on the left flank, drive the ball inside while shielding possession before playing a back-pass to facilitate a switch to the opposite flank. Arias then received possession in a central midfield area to spread a pass to the right flank for a cross into the box as he finished the game by pushing forward to win possession with another interception in the opposition half to play the ball into the centre to recycle possession in the opposition half. Away to LDU Quito, the young Ecuadorian continued to show his skillset as a ball-playing left-sided centre-back as he enjoys navigating possession past opposition pressure with his distribution as he threaded some lovely balls to the nine-space from the wide areas before working a pass through a congested area to the six-space with his weaker right foot.

When he is tucked into the left-sided centre-back position or from closer to the touchline, Arias will always look for the deep vertical pass as he was very successful with his distribution against one of the top Ecuadorian sides. In one situation, he won possession and accurately distributed possession into the next line while he has the uncanny ability to hold possession and wait for a teammate to move into space before releasing the ball. He was involved in the creation of a goalscoring opportunity when he utilized this manoeuvre to release possession to the six-space with the perfect accuracy and weighting. The 21-year-old continued to struggle for 1v1s in the left-back position as he was constantly beaten. Attackers trying to beat him can drive by him with ease as he mostly won possession by using his anticipation to step in front of his marker and win possession.

At home to Olmedo, his first touch in receiving possession and one-touch passing was exemplary as he received possession to thread a pass to Kevin Sambonino in the six-space. He showed further potential in his ball-carrying when he drove the ball forward and spread a pass to the flank before further underlining his anticipation by pushing up to make an interception and play the ball to a teammate. However, his progressive passing continued to be the highlight of his game, receiving possession before threading a pass in between the lines before receiving possession again as he attempted a cross which was punched away by the goalkeeper. He would receive possession again to thread possession in between the lines before he amazing exhibited technical prowess with the ball at his feet. Arias received possession in the opposition half before pushing the ball forward and placing a lovely cross onto the head of a teammate who redirected the ball past the keeper as the goal was wrongly ruled out for offside.

Arias then regained possession in an aerial duel before regaining possession cleanly on the ground inside his own box as he continued to struggle in 1v1s against opposition attackers. For the opening goal of the game, he was caught too narrow which allowed an opposition attacker the time and space to play a delivery into the box. The 21-year-old showed his one-touch passing and willingness to instigate attacking play from deep when he received possession to roll a pass into the wide areas before receiving possession again as he looked to play a through ball in behind for a runner as him and his teammate where not on the same wavelength as the ball rolled harmlessly into the keeper’s arms. He then pushed up to win a duel before receiving possession, driving the ball forward and rolling a brilliant pass in between the lines.

The 21-year-old was heavily involved in Guayaquil City’s build-up play, tucking inside, stringing together passing connections and driving the ball into the midfield line where he could swivel his hips and play passes to the six-space. He received possession to skip past a marker, drive the ball forward and play a pass in between the lines with his right. He then pushed ahead of his marker to regain possession before starting the second-half, in the same vein as he started the first, receiving possession before pushing up and faking like he was going to play the ball wide before swivelling his hips and threading a pass in between the lines. Arias is not just capable of elaborate deep line-breaking passes, but he is also capable of being involved in wall-passing situations and simple sideways passes. He is also capable of forcing long passes into the front-line which cause his side to lose possession.

However, when he does complete longer passes, it is beautiful to watch as he received possession to lob an unerringly accurate pass into the channels which landed on the foot of an attacker who could have a 1v1 against an opposition defender. He then pinged another accurate pass to the nine-space while falling as he had more opportunities to venture into the opposition half with his ball-carrying and distribution. The 21-year-old would have another opportunity to venture into the opposition half when he received possession on the overlap to have a cross tipped out by the goalkeeper before regaining possession from his side’s resulting corner to lob a cross into the box which nearly resulted in an opportunity being created. Arias’ lack of pace was an issue at left-back or left wing-back but allows him to recover possession in a high line from a centre-back role as he showed this in the game.

The 21-year-old defender then played a long pass forward which resulted in a free-kick being awarded to his team as the free-kick was scored to finish the game and seal a 4-2 victory for his side. Arias is capable of taking incredible risks with his technical quality as he is unphased by pressure as he received possession in the box with a man pushing forward to close him down as he played a short pass to a teammate just outside the box to receive possession again and back-heel the ball to the goalkeeper. Arias was assured under pressure again when he received possession to swivel past his marker and play an accurate pass down the channels.

Arias could develop into a left-sided centre-back who would thrive in a high defensive line as he is phenomenal in his anticipation and pushing up to mark the space in front of him, has the pace to chase down the quicker players and regain possession while also being able to regain the ball cleanly on the ground. He thrives in winning possession in the counter-press as he is the type of player who would allow his side to defend in the higher areas of the pitch. His strongest suit is his distribution as he loves to thread passes through tight lines of pressure as well as pinging longer passes into the opposition half. He is innate as a one-touch passer while having the ability to swivel out of tight situations to play progressive passes into the opposition half.

Arias also has the ability to play in a high-line because of the creativity of his passing in the opposition half, he has the ability to thread through balls into runners or lob passes into the nine-space for flick-ons. He can also create opportunities by lobbing passes and crosses into the box for shooting opportunities as his distribution is impeccable. The 21-year-old is a shorter left-sided centre-back akin to Ajax’ Lisandro Martinez as his ability to hold a high-line is phenomenal while his ability to distribute possession, progressively and effectively is astonishing. He will need to improve and be more consistent with driving the ball forward, shielding possession to draw fouls while also carrying possession into the higher areas where he can use his distribution to aid transition.

Arias is an undervalued prospect due to being played in the wrong position as if he is moved into a left-sided centre-back position, he will be able to develop and grow in this position as he is still only 21-years-old. Ecuador are producing high-level players as Arias could certainly develop into one of these players as the Belgian Jupiler Pro League would be a fantastic destination. He would be a good replacement for Facundo Medina at RC Lens, Martinez at Ajax or even Marcos Senesi at Feyenoord as Ligue 1, Eredivisie, La Liga, Segunda Liga as well as the Portuguese Primera Liga would be good destinations for him. For instance, Sporting Lisbon with their back-three and reliance on distribution from centre-backs would be a good league for the Ecuadorian as well as Famalicao with their recent history for developing high level players. Arias could be a steal on the market as an undervalued player who could fetch a profit for a mid-level European club in a few years.