Born in Bayrampasa, Istanbul on the 30th of January 1987, Arda began playing football at the age of 8 for his local team Altintepsi Makelspor. At the age of 12 he was offered the chance to join his boyhood club Galatasaray.

He made his professional debut for Galatasaray on January 22nd 2005 in the Turkish Cup against Bursaspor. He continued his progress in the clubs Academy as well as representing Turkey at all youth levels. He was sent out on loan to Vestel Manisaspor during the second half of the 2005-06 season in order to gain first team experience. He started with a bang as he scored his first professional goal in his first game for Vestel Manisaspor, a 2-0 victory away to Ankaragucu.

After returning to Galatasaray he scored his first Champions League goal in a 5-2 victory over Czech team Mladá Boleslav. Arda’s rise continued over the coming seasons and at the start of the 2009-10 season he was named Galatasaray’s captain. As well as now captaining his boyhood club, Arda became the youngest captain in the clubs history, aged just 22. He was also given the iconic no. 10 shirt during his time as he went on to win the Turkish Super League, Turkish Cup and Turkish Super Cup.

In 2011 Spanish giants Atletico Madrid came calling and signed Arda for €12million. His first appearance came in the La Liga match against Osasuna on August 28th. It would be the start of a special few years for the club as they clinched 5 trophies in 3 seasons - the Europa League, the European Super Cup, Copa del Rey, La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup.

Arda played a pivotal role in the clubs success with key assists in the Europa League final against Athletic Bilbao and the Super Cup against Chelsea. He would go on to hurt Chelsea again with a crucial goal in the Champions League Semi-final 2nd leg at Stamford Bridge.

In 2015 Arda made the move from Madrid to Barcelona, joining FC Barcelona for €34million. His first appearance coming in the Copa del Rey against local rivals Espanyol. His first La Liga appearance came 3 days later against Granada. Arda’s success continued as he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the European and the Spanish Super Cup’s all for the second time as well as the FIFA World Club Cup. In 2017 he won his third Copa del Rey title with a victory over Alavés.

Having made his international debut for Turkey against Luxemburg in August 2006, Arda went on to captain his country and featured 97 times, scoring 17 goals and providing 25 assists.