Carlos Arroyo – Universidad San Martin’s colossal attacking presence
Carlos Arroyo moved from Independiente Juniors to Universidad San Martin as the 21-year-old striker travelled to Peru in search of first-team football. The Ecuadorian is 8 games into his professional career as he has accrued 1 goal, 0.62XG with a 0.18XG per game as the youngster has only attempted a paltry 6 shots this season. The youngster may not have the most inspiring numbers to start his career but there are some aspects of his game to develop while he does have the potential to be a European level attacker if he develops some of the finer points of his game. Ecuador have become one of the best countries at developing talent all over the pitch but that has not translated to strikers as Arroyo could be one of the few attackers with potential coming through the pipeline.
The 21-year-old is towering in height with an imposing physique, allowing him to hold off defenders to lay-off possession and create shooting opportunities for himself while he is a willing runner in the channels, chasing lost causes or working one-twos to make runs into the channels to win fouls for his team. He has short area quickness as he can make runs in behind as he consistently angles his body to be on the shoulder of the last man, looking to make darts in behind to drag a marker out of position or receive the ball. However, one of Arroyo’s main issues is his first touch, he has had many situations where he has received the ball in good areas, but his first touch has let him down, preventing him from transitioning a delivery into a shooting opportunity. He will also need to improve his movement in the box, developing a better idea for unmarking movements, near post runs as well as developing an idea of when to make runs and when to hold his runs while the timing of his jumps to redirect deliveries at goal will also need to improve if he is to fulfil his potential.
At home to Atletico Grau, a teammate would receive possession on the right flank with Arroyo in the centre as the Ecuadorian would gesture for a pass in behind as he was beginning to make a dart in behind the opposition defence once his teammate was cutting inside as the ball would be lobbed into his area, but the 21-year-old was tripped. He then made another run in behind, stopping for a moment when he was in line with the last man before getting in behind to receive another lobbed pass in the right channel to prod the ball past the opposition goalkeeper and attempt a shot from a tight angle which was directed towards the side-netting before the chance was cleared. Arroyo can shoulder the responsibilities of the modern-day centre forward, being able to drop deep and connect play while being a constant threat with his running in behind as he generates a lot of opportunities for himself in behind the opposition defence.
He received possession from a throw-in to flick a pass for his teammate to have a shooting opportunity while when his team were building up, he dropped deep to receive possession before making a circular movement and dart behind his marker while gesturing for a pass in behind the opposition defence. The ball moved to the left flank while Arroyo was occupying the nine-space as his team would have a crossing opportunity for a delivery which was sent behind him. It is also important to watch Arroyo’s scanning and head movements as he is focused on the ball and the delivery that he does not scan to check the width of the goal to adjust the timing of his run and movement. Even if he received possession in the box, he would not be positioned in an effective area to have a clear-cut opportunity on goal, especially with one or two touches. This could be tactical as well as Arroyo’s responsibility as he has a teammate behind him as the Ecuadorian could make a movement towards the top of the box for a cut-back with his teammate making a run to the near post as in that fashion, they would both have the opportunity to receive possession within the width of the goal. If he scanned to check the width of the goal while running into the box, he could divert his run closer to the near post where he would have the opportunity for a one-touch finish or be in a better position to receive the delivery.
Arroyo can connect play and be creative in the deeper areas as well as stretch the opposition defence as he would deftly lob a pass for a teammate to make a run in behind as the pass was just a touch too heavy. The 21-year-old can also win fouls within the opposition half as he received possession from a throw-in, held off a defender to swivel past him, skipping past a second man who fouled him as he won possession near the box in the left half-space. He would have another situation where he failed to properly scan the width of the goal as possession was on his right flank, he occupied a marker to make a near post run outside the width of the goal towards the right where he had an opportunity with his head but was unable to guide the opportunity towards goal. Arroyo did well to isolate his defender but could have stayed within the width of the goal by making a double movement, making a run to the near post before cutting back into the centre to evade his marker and have an easier tap-in opportunity in the centre. If he made the run to the near post, he could have stopped his feet for a second to see if his defender continued moving or stayed with him as this would have also bought him some time to make a run towards the near post and receive the delivery within the width of the goal to have an easier opportunity. He will also need to improve his heading to guide the ball towards the near post or at least drive the header closer to goal by adjusting his body and directing the ball goalward.
He would have another movement to receive a cross that could be improved upon as he was positioned in the right half-space as the ball was played to the left, his defender moved towards the ball, leaving him free as Arroyo made a run towards the near post for a delivery that he could not get under his control. The 21-year-old made a run to the near post too early as with runs to the near post, it is always better to make a run towards the space to meet the ball instead of being in the space before the ball arrives as the former allows the striker to meet and simply redirect the delivery. Arroyo did well to isolate his defender once more as he also needs to do a better job at adjusting his body to take deliveries on his first touch with the angling of his body to create a better shape and orientation to receive the ball on his stronger left foot and drive the opportunity on goal. The timing of his runs, his interpretation of spaces in the box as well as his body orientation needs to improve in order for him to develop into a more proficient striker.
At home to Sport Boys Association, Arroyo would have the perfect first touch from an opposition goal-kick to loft the pass over a defender and onto the foot of a teammate. The 21-year-old showed better movement as the ball moved to the right flank as he needed to accelerate his run slightly when he got into the box as he stooped low, but the ball bobbled in front of him where he could have headed an opportunity at goal. His movement and positioning in the box were brilliant but he would have had a brilliant opportunity if he timed his run better or accelerated slightly when he got into the box. He moved to the right flank to receive possession and lay-off before moving into the central spaces to receive possession, turn and work a one-two with a teammate to lay-off for another teammate as Arroyo could have used these connections to fashion a shooting opportunity inside the opposition box. He then made a run into the left channel to receive possession, holding the ball up to lay-off possession and facilitate a switch to the opposite flank.
Arroyo would work a connection that would lead to an opportunity inside the box, but his first touch would let him down. He received possession in the right channel to lay-off for a teammate before making a run into the nine-space where he received possession to have a clear shooting opportunity, but his first touch was terrible as the 21-year-old could not even shoot as this is a reason why he only has 6 shots this season, especially with the positions he gets into. This is a massive defect in his game as he would receive possession from a cross once more but would not be able to have a proper shot on goal. He would hold his run to receive a cut-back as the first crossing attempt was blocked as he moved outside the box to receive possession before making a brilliant near post run to receive a cross from the right flank but he made an awkward jump to attempt a shot with his back foot instead of attempting to shoot with his front foot which was his weaker right foot. He had two situations inside the opposition box which did not count as shooting opportunities despite receiving the ball in good areas.
This would happen a third time as he received a cross from the right but instead of angling his body to take the shot with his first touch with his left, he tried to loft the ball over his marker’s head to get into a better shooting situation but lost possession. He needs to learn how to shoot with his first touch with both feet as this is crucial with the spaces that he gets into. Defensively, he would make a clearance in his own box after the goalkeeper rushed out of goal before he would make a run in behind to receive possession from a goal-kick but was unable to hold up possession. Arroyo received possession outside his own box and played an elegant one-touch pass to a runner who took a heavy touch as the 21-year-old nearly created a high-quality shooting opportunity for a teammate. He made a run in behind to receive possession on his right foot as he hammered a shot over the bar as even with only 6 shots, he has the ability to manufacture opportunities with his runs in behind.
At home to Carlos Stein, he would come off the bench to receive possession from the goalkeeper, surging past a defender to drive forward into the opposition half before working a one-two with a teammate to receive a pass in the channels as he was brought down to win a foul in the opposition half. The 21-year-old then pushed up to make an interception in a counter-pressing situation, poking possession past a defender to play the ball to a winger who had a clear run on goal but was blown offside in a contentious decision. At home to Asociacion Deportiva Tarma, Arroyo came off the bench once more as he has rarely started a game since the early stages of the season. He received possession in the nine-space, holding possession and playing a pass into the wide areas before making a run into the channels as the ball back to him was intercepted. He then pushed forward to intercept a weak back-pass, surging in between two defenders to drive at goal and loft a shot over the bar.
After another turnover, he received a deep pass in the nine-space, holding possession up to play a pass to the right flank before making a run into the box where he would receive possession to have a shooting opportunity, but he was tackled before he could have shot. Arroyo managed to transition into shooting opportunities with his ball-carrying and combination play as he consistently manages to get into good shooting areas but will need to refine and polish his game in order to fulfil his immense potential. Arroyo would open his account in professional football when he received a deflection from a cross to turn and fire a strike past the goalkeeper in added time as a goal would improve his performance.
At Independiente Juniors, Arroyo was said to have been strong in training sessions but struggled with managing his nerves in games as more professional football in the calmer confines of Universidad San Martin will do him a lot of good. His first touch in the opposition box, his movement and timing of runs especially in getting into good positions for one-touch finishes in tight spaces will need training and improvement. It is integral that he begins to take the width of the goal into account when scanning and making runs into the box as he manages to get into good positions to receive crosses but needs to get into better positions to apply the finishing touches to crosses. He will also need to train his body shape when receiving deliveries as this is another aspect of scanning his position in regard to the width of the goal and trajectory of the delivery to adjust his body and apply the finishing touches to crosses while also adjusting his runs to meet the ball within the width of the opposition goal. He will also need to improve his heading as he has the size and strength to hold off markers and get on the end of high crosses, but he will also need to improve his movement and body shape to get on the end of deliveries to direct opportunities at goal. His first touch will also need to improve as he only has 4 shots from inside the box from 12 touches in the opposition box throughout the season as he consistently gets into good areas but his first touch denies him the opportunity to have shots on goal as having a measured first touch to control deliveries and shoot as well as shooting with his first touch should become his main focus going forward.
Arroyo has such a small sample size as he has played just over 300 minutes for Universidad San Martin as the Peruvian team seems the best place for him to continue to develop and gain experience. If things do not work out in Peru, Mineros in the Liga MX Expansion with their young coach, Omar Alexis Moreno would be a great place for him as he educates striker movement and development better than a lot of coaches while he will also play in a system that carves out high quality opportunities for him with regularity. Serie B in Italy has also been a good developing ground for young strikers, but the 21-year-old should stay in Peru to continue to develop his game with experience as he has the potential to be an Ecuadorian National Team player in the future with the paucity of young options that they have at centre-forward. His development will be interesting to track for the striker development as it will be interesting to see if he can round out his game.
