Position: Midfielder
Age: 17
Key Stat: 17 appearances over two years at NYCFC II
Jacob Arroyave is one for the future.
New York City FC signed the left-footed 17-year-old midfielder to a Homegrown contract last month after he spent two seasons with NYCFC II — and after finishing the 2024 season sidelined while recovering from an ACL injury.
He’s currently in preseason training with the First Team in California, but he’ll most likely return to NYCFC II once the season starts. Arroyave has just 11 starts over 17 appearances in two years with the team – he logged 980 minutes in all competitions last year and 27 minutes the year before that – and he needs more experience before he can think of breaking into the New York City midfield.
Homegrown pedigree
But we likely will see him suit up for the First Team at some point. Out of the 16 Homegrowns that New York City signed in their 10-year history, the first eight appeared with the First Team, and another seven (including Arroyave) are still with the squad and awaiting their MLS debut. Jonathan Jiménez is the only player New York City signed to a Homegrown contact who didn’t take the field for the First Team.
New York City FC | Homegrown Signings*
| Name | Pos | Signed | MLS Debut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Amponsah | D | 2025 | — |
| Jacob Arroyave | M | 2025 | — |
| Alex Rando | GK | 2024 | — |
| Zidane Yañez | F | 2023 | — |
| Jonny Shore | M | 2023 | — |
| Drew Baiera | D | 2023 | — |
| Máximo Carrizo | M | 2022 | — |
| Jonathan Jiménez* | F | 2022 | — |
| Samuel Owusu | D | 2022 | 2022 |
| Nico Benalcazar* | D | 2022 | 2023 |
| Christian McFarlane | D | 2021 | 2024 |
| Andres Jasson* | M | 2020 | 2021 |
| Tayvon Gray | D | 2019 | 2021 |
| Justin Haak | M | 2019 | 2019 |
| Joe Scally* | D | 2018 | 2020 |
| James Sands* | M | 2017 | 2017 |
* As of February, 2025
Some Homegrowns went on to become everyday players, such as James Sands and Tayvon Gray. Others were developed to be sold to Europe, such as Joe Scally and Christian McFarlane. And a few didn’t meet their potentials, such as Nico Benalcazar (who spent last year at FC Cincinnati 2), and Samuel Owusu (who made a single 11-minute appearance for New York City in 2022 and then spent all of 2023 and 2024 with NYCFC II).
In other words, the odds are good for Arroyave but nothing is guaranteed. New York City’s midfield is full of strong players now in their prime, and the 17-year-old will be in a good position to assume a role in the First Team as they age out in the next three to four years.
Positional flexibility
If and when Arroyave does ascend to the First Team, he will be a part of the attack. Arroyave is variously scouted as a defensive and attacking midfielder who can play on the left or the right, but he looks like he’s most comfortable when he’s with the ball at his feet and working through congested areas of the pitch.
You can see that in the assist he provided in the win over FC Motown in the US Open Cup. Arroyave’s run begins at the center line and finishes at the top box, where he lays off a pass to an unmarked Tony Calhiera who goes on to burry his shot. The run of play is quick, decisive, and composed:
Taylor takes us into the lead early on 🥶 pic.twitter.com/fOVUTlS1Gr
— New York City FC II (@newyorkcityfcii) March 21, 2024
He’s also good at set pieces, providing solid service to his teammates:
A known unknown
But the fact is that we know little about Arroyave other than he earned the trust of the New York City front office. He last played on June 12, just 12 games into the MLS NEXT Pro season. There’s not a lot of tape to watch.
Instead, New York City fans should trust the process. In a press conference earlier this week, Sporting Director David Lee emphasized the importance of identifying and developing young talent to make this team successful. While that might be obvious when it comes to players like Julián Fernández and Agustín Ojeda, whose international pedigree and steep transfer fees (at least by the standards of Major League Soccer) point to a high ceiling, it also applies to a player like Arroyave, who was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and who signed for free.
In other words, he’s a known unknown. We might have limited insight into his potential, but Lee thinks highly enough of him to put a ring on it.
