One of Sporting Kansas City’s all-time greats announced his retirement from Major League Soccer on Thursday.
Midfielder Davy Arnaud has stepped away from the game after a 14-year MLS career in which he recorded 54 goals and 47 assists in 368 appearances (including playoffs). The 35-year-old spent his first 10 seasons in Kansas City where he won a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, earned MLS All-Star accolades and captained the side in 2010. He will join the D.C. United coaching staff ahead of the 2016 season.
Arnaud penned a letter to fans, teammates and coaches on Thursday, ending his message with a thank-you to Sporting KC:
“Finally, I want to say thank you to Sporting Kansas City. I spent 10 fantastic years with the club and enjoyed some of the most important events of my life living in the city. Getting married, having two kids, winning the Open Cup and playing in MLS Cup in 2004, celebrating a 90th minute Jack Jewsbury winner in a (Western Conference) semifinal, the list could go on and on! The proudest moment of my career came when I got to lead the team onto the field for the opening of Sporting Park. To the organization, staff, teammates and fans of SKC....you have always been and will always be in my heart.”
A regular fixture of Sporting Kansas City’s lineup from 2002-2011, Arnaud is among the club’s all-time leaders in the following regular season categories:
- Games - 240 (1st)
- Minutes - 19,399 (3rd)
- Goals - 43 (t-2nd)
- Assists - 35 (3rd)
- Shots - 452 (2nd)
- Fouls suffered - 528 (1st)
Kansas City drafted Arnaud with the 50th overall pick in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft out of West Texas A&M. An unheralded prospect out of college, he would soon become a household name as one of the league’s most industrious midfielders.
After quiet seasons in 2002 and 2003, the Nederland, Texas, native became a regular starter in 2004 when he netted a career-high nine MLS goals and led Kansas City to the U.S. Open Cup title. He logged at least 24 games and four goals every regular season from 2004-2010 and featured in the 2009 MLS All-Star Game. As club captain in 2010, he finished second on the team with six goals and scored in Kansas City’s famous 2-1 friendly win over Manchester United at Arrowhead Stadium.
Arnaud helped Kansas City reach the MLS Cup Playoffs on six occasions, netting four postseason goals including a brace in a 2-0 win over LA Galaxy in the 2004 Western Conference Championship. He added five goals in 12 Open Cup appearances — he’s tied as the club’s all-time leading scorer in the competition — and finished his stay with Sporting KC following the 2011 campaign having started 234 of 273 matches in all competitions, totaling 52 goals and 40 assists. His 92 combined goals and assists in all competitions ranks second in club history behind Preki.
Arnaud went on to captain the Montreal Impact during its inaugural MLS season in 2012 and helped guide the club to its first playoff appearance in 2013. He spent his last two seasons at D.C. United, where he started regularly for a club that finished first in the Eastern Conference in 2014 and fourth in 2015. He ends his career ranking fifth in MLS regular season history with 351 appearances, sixth in minutes (28,471) and first with 746 fouls suffered.
