{{Short description|Indian footballer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Use Indian English|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Arjun Jayaraj | image = | caption = | fullname = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1996|03|05|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Manjeri]], [[Kerala]], [[India]] | height = {{height|m=1.75|precision=0}} | currentclub = [[Calicut FC|Calicut]] | clubnumber = 7 | position = [[Attacking midfielder]] | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Malabar Special Police | years1 = 2017–2019 | clubs1 = [[Gokulam Kerala]] | caps1 = 30 | goals1 = 2 | clubs2 = [[Kerala Blasters]] | years2 = 2019–2020 | caps2 = 0 | goals2 = 0 | years3 = 2020–2022 | clubs3 = [[Kerala United FC|Kerala United]] | caps3 = 9 | goals3 = 0 | years4 = 2022–2024 | clubs4 = [[Gokulam Kerala FC|Gokulam Kerala]] | caps4 = 7 | goals4 = 0 | years5 = 2023–2024 | clubs5 = → [[Sporting Club Bengaluru|SC Bengaluru]] (loan) | caps5 = 14 | goals5 = 0 | years6 = 2024 | clubs6 = [[Gokulam Kerala FC|Gokulam Kerala]] | caps6 = 0 | goals6 = 0 | years7 = 2024-2025 | clubs7 = [[Forca Kochi FC|Forca Kochi]] | caps7 = 8 | goals7 = 0 | years8 = 2026- | clubs8 = [[Calicut FC|Calicut]] | caps8 = 2 | goals8 = 1 | club-update = | pcupdate = 18 May 2026 }}
'''Arjun Jayaraj''' (born 5 March 1996) is an Indian professional [[Association football|footballer]] who plays as an [[Midfielder#Attacking midfielder|attacking midfielder]] for [[Calicut FC|Calicut]].<ref>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/malappuram-fc-blank-forca-kochi/articleshow/113156067.cms</ref>
==Career== ===Early career=== Born in [[Malappuram]], [[Kerala]], Arjun is a product of the MSP sports hostel.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/isl-i-league-india-gokulam-kerala-arjun-jayaraj/vz4xdo3zwdhn1hoyb9tzh787v|title=Gokulam Kerala's Arjun Jayaraj - Kerala players aren't getting enough chances {{!}} Goal.com|access-date=2018-11-21|language=en}}</ref> He played for Calicut University and won the All-India Championship.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/isl-i-league-gokulam-kerala-arjun-jayaraj/mzyqpjbp5onc1nmy3oxit3yat|title=Arjun Jayaraj, Gokulam Kerala's breakout youngster who took his chance {{!}} Goal.com|access-date=2018-11-21|language=en}}</ref> While playing for his university team against [[Gokulam Kerala F.C.|Gokulam Kerala]] in a friendly, he scored a goal and impressed Gokulam head coach [[Bino George]] who signed him.<ref name=":0" />
===Gokulam Kerala FC===
==== 2017–18 ==== Arjun played for the club in the Kerala Premier League and scored a goal in the final to help Gokulam win the title.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-sports/gokulam-fc-takes-the-honours/article24075223.ece|title=Gokulam Kerala win Kerala Premier League 2017|date=2018-06-04|work=The Hindu|access-date=2018-11-21|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He was included in the I-League squad and made his professional debut for [[Gokulam Kerala F.C.|Gokulam Kerala]] on 22 December 2017 against [[Indian Arrows]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2017/12/22/india/i-league/aiff-xi/gokulam/2683983/|title=Indian Arrows vs. Gokulam - 22 December 2017 - Soccerway|website=us.soccerway.com|language=en|access-date=2018-11-21}}</ref> On 27 January 2017 he scored his debut goal, a last minute winner, as Gokulam Kerala won 3–2 over [[Shillong Lajong F.C.|Shillong Lajong]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/football/i-league-gokulam-kerala-ride-on-arjun-jayaraj-s-heroics-to-pip-shillong-lajong/story-kZ0zi8Yqu2CsLIykNy1VWI.html|title=I-League: Gokulam Kerala ride on Arjun Jayaraj’s heroics to pip Shillong Lajong|date=2018-01-28|work=hindustantimes.com/|access-date=2018-11-21|language=en}}</ref>
==== 2018–19 ==== He started in the season's first game against Mohun Bagan and was awarded the Hero of the match. But then it only started once in the following three games. On 30 November 2018, he scored his first goal of the season against Churchill Brothers which finished as a 1-1 draw and was awarded the Hero of the match.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/i-league/i-league-churchill-continue-unbeaten-run-with-a-1-1-draw-against-gokulam/articleshow/66886622.cms|title=I-League: Churchill continue unbeaten run with a 1-1 draw against Gokulam - Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=2018-12-03}}</ref>
===Kerala Blasters FC=== ====2019-2020====
On 29 July 2019, it was announced that Arjun would join [[Kerala Blasters FC]] from [[Gokulam Kerala FC]] which involves transfer fee of 21 lakhs rupees.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kerala Blasters sign Arjun Jayaraj from Gokulam Kerala |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/indian-super-league/top-stories/kerala-blasters-sign-arjun-jayaraj-from-gokulam-kerala/articleshow/70470921.cms |date=31 July 2019|access-date=11 October 2020|work=The Times Of India}}</ref> However he broke his ligament during the pre-season training and missed the entire 2019-20 season.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kerala Blasters: Arjun Jayaraj hopes to come back with a bang after lengthy layoff {{!}} Goal.com|url=https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/kerala-blasters-arjun-jayaraj-injury-return-isl/15vh23hexcx0x1g7a5jfte3kcc|access-date=2020-12-02|website=www.goal.com}}</ref> On 4 December 2020, Kerala Blasters announced that to get sufficient playing time, the club and Arjun Jayaraj have parted ways on mutual consents.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arjun Jayaraj's Kerala Blasters journey ends with a whimper {{!}} Goal.com|url=https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/kerala-blasters-arjun-jayaraj-contract-terminated/1h7s7nzspzbc1mfubq8itbjch|access-date=2020-12-04|website=www.goal.com}}</ref>
==Career statistics== ===Club=== {{updated|match played 6 December 2024}}<ref name="soccerway">{{soccerway|arjun-jayaraj/524730}}</ref>
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center |- !rowspan=2|Club !rowspan=2|Season !colspan=3|League !colspan=2|Cup !colspan=2|Continental !colspan=2|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- | rowspan="3" |[[Gokulam Kerala FC]] |[[2017–18 I-League|2017–18]] |[[I-League]]||15||1|| colspan="2" |—|| colspan="2" |—||15||1 |- |[[2018–19 I-League|2018–19]] |[[I-League]]||15||1|| colspan="2" |—|| colspan="2" |—||15||1 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !30 !2 ! colspan="2" |— ! colspan="2" |— !30 !2 |- | [[Kerala Blasters]] |[[2019–20 Kerala Blasters FC season|2019–20]] |[[Indian Super League]]|| colspan="2" |—|| colspan="2" |—|| colspan="2" |—||0||0 |- | [[Kerala United FC|Kerala United]] |[[2020–21 I-League 2nd Division|2020–21]] |[[I-League 2|I-League 2nd Division]]||9||0|| colspan="2" |—|| colspan="2" |—||9||0 |- | rowspan="3" |[[Gokulam Kerala FC]] |{{nowrap|[[2022–23 I-League|2022–23]]}} | rowspan="2" |[[I-League]]||7||0|| colspan="2" |—|| colspan="2" |—||7||0 |- |[[2023–24 Gokulam Kerala F.C. season|2023–24]] | colspan="2" |—||1{{efn|name=DurandCup|Appearance(s) in [[Durand Cup]]}}||0|| colspan="2" |—||1||0 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !7 !0 !1 !0 ! colspan="2" |— !8 !0 |- | rowspan="3" |[[SC Bengaluru]] ''(on loan)'' |[[2023–24 I-League 3|2023-24]] |[[I-League 3]] |6 |0 | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— |6 |0 |- |[[2023–24 I-League 2|2023-24]] |[[I-League 2]] |12 |0 | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— |12 |0 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !18 !0 ! colspan="2" |— ! colspan="2" |— !18 !0 |- |[[Gokulam Kerala FC]] |{{nowrap|[[2024–25 I-League|2024-25]]}} |[[I-League]] | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— |- |[[Forca Kochi FC]] |[[2024 Super League Kerala|2024]] |[[Super League Kerala]] | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— |- ! colspan="3" |Career total !64||2||1||0||0||0||65||2 |} {{notelist}}
==Honours== '''Gokulam Kerala''' *'''AWES Cup runner-up''' '''Champions''': {{gold1}} 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.demposportsclub.com/dempo-sc-lift-maiden-awes-cup-last-minute-thriller/|title=Dempo SC Lift Maiden AWES Cup In Last Minute Thriller|date=18 September 2017|access-date=27 January 2022|website=demposportsclub.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503095120/https://www.demposportsclub.com/dempo-sc-lift-maiden-awes-cup-last-minute-thriller/|archive-date=3 May 2023}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{soccerway|arjun-jayaraj/524730}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayaraj, Arjun}} [[Category:1996 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Indian men's footballers]] [[Category:Men's association football midfielders]] [[Category:Footballers from Kerala]] [[Category:I-League players]] [[Category:Indian Super League players]] [[Category:21st-century Indian sportsmen]] [[Category:Kerala Blasters FC players]] [[Category:I-League 2 players]] [[Category:I-League 3 players]] [[Category:Kerala United FC players]] [[Category:Gokulam Kerala FC players]] [[Category:SC Bengaluru players]] [[Category:Calicut FC players]]