Francesc Arnau


Francesc Xavier Arnau Grabulosa is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and current sporting director of Real Oviedo.
In a 16-year professional career he only played for Barcelona and Málaga, appearing in 126 La Liga games over the course of 12 seasons.

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Les Planes d'Hostoles, Girona, Catalonia, Arnau was a youth graduate from La Liga powerhouse FC Barcelona. He made his first-team debut in 1996–97, in a 3–3 home draw against Atlético Madrid on 9 November 1996.
During five seasons, Arnau was second-choice to Ruud Hesp and Pepe Reina, while also registered with the B-side.

Málaga

For the 2001–02 campaign, Arnau moved to Málaga CF for € 2.1 million, also playing second-fiddle until the departure of Pedro Contreras to Real Betis in 2003. He would eventually become club captain, but lost his job in 2007–08 in the second division, to Iñaki Goitia.
Goitia was sold also to Betis in summer 2009, but Málaga also acquired Gustavo Munúa and Roberto Santamaría, so Arnau was demoted to as low as third-choice in the 2009–10 season, eventually finishing backup to the Uruguayan but without making one single official appearance.
After Munúa's departure, Arnau played the first game of 2010–11 – a 1–3 home loss against Valencia CF – as Rodrigo Galatto was not yet eligible. He continued appearing regularly for the club in the following weeks after the Brazilian performed poorly and another new signing, Rubén, went down with an injury.
On 21 May 2011, Arnau played his last match as a professional, coming on as a substitute for Willy Caballero in the last minutes of a 1–3 home defeat against his first club Barcelona, with Málaga finally retaining its top division status.

International career

Arnau appeared for Spain at the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, being named the tournament's MVP as the country emerged victorious.

Post-retirement

After retiring at the age of 36, he continued working with his last team as a youth coach, alongside former teammate Salva.
Arnau became Málaga's new director of football on 15 December 2015, in replacement of Armando Husillos. In October 2017, Malaga sacked the coach and the management, including Aranu, after a poor start to the season.
On 3 December 2019 Real Oviedo confirmed, that they had hired Arneu as the club's sporting director, signing a deal until June 2022.

Honours

Club

Barcelona
Málaga
Spain U21