{{no significant coverage (sports)|date=November 2024}} {{Short description|Japanese footballer (born 1978)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox football biography |name=Kenji Arai<br />新井 健二 |image= |fullname= |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1978|5|19}} |birth_place=[[Saitama Prefecture|Saitama]], Japan |height={{Height|m=1.82}} |position=[[Defender (association football)|Defender]] |currentclub= |youthyears1=1994–1996|youthclubs1=Tokiwa High School |collegeyears1=1997–2000|college1=[[Rissho University]] |years1=2001–2003|clubs1=[[Albirex Niigata]]|caps1=26|goals1=0 |years2=2004–2005|clubs2=[[Albirex Niigata Singapore FC|Albirex Niigata Singapore]]|caps2=51|goals2=6 |years3=2006–2009|clubs3=[[Singapore Armed Forces FC|Singapore Armed Forces]]|caps3=119|goals3=15 |years4=2009–2010|clubs4=[[SC Goa|Sporting CG]]|caps4=|goals4= |years5=2010|clubs5=[[Hougang United FC|Sengkang Punggol]]|caps5=17|goals5=3 |years6=2011–2012|clubs6=[[Home United FC|Home United]]|caps6=37|goals6=1 |totalcaps=250|totalgoals=25 }}
{{Nihongo|'''Kenji Arai'''|新井 健二|Arai Kenji|born May 19, 1978}} is a former [[Japan]]ese professional [[Association football|football]] player.
==Playing career== Arai entered professional football with [[Albirex Niigata]] after graduating from [[Rissho University]] in 2001 but was unable to hold on to the first team place although he played 20 league games for Albirex Niigata in his first season.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Guardian.co.uk]] |title=Stats Centre: Kenji Arai Facts |url=http://guardian.touch-line.com/StatsCentre.asp?Lang=0&CTID=57&CPID=120&pStr=Player&PLID=78920&TEID=1403 |accessdate=2009-05-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601222644/http://guardian.touch-line.com/StatsCentre.asp?Lang=0&CTID=57&CPID=120&pStr=Player&PLID=78920&TEID=1403 |archivedate=2012-06-01 }}</ref> He was on loan to [[Albirex Niigata FC (Singapore)]] in 2004 and in 2006 he secured a permanent move to [[Singapore Armed Forces Football Club|Singapore Armed Forces FC]].
He is also the second Japanese player, after his [[Singapore Armed Forces Football Club|Singapore Armed Forces FC]] teammate [[Masahiro Fukasawa]], to play in the [[AFC Champions League]] for a non-Japanese club. In November 2009, Kenji joined [[SC Goa]].<ref>[http://www.indianfootball.com/en/news/articleId/2145 Indian Football] {{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref> He returned to Singapore and joined [[Sengkang Punggol FC]] on 2010 and subsequently [[Home United FC]] in 2011.
==Club statistics== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! colspan=3 | Club performance ! colspan=2 | League ! colspan=2 | Cup ! colspan=2 | League Cup ! colspan=2 | Total |- ! Season ! Club ! League ! Apps !! Goals ! Apps !! Goals ! Apps !! Goals ! Apps !! Goals |- ! colspan=3 |Japan ! colspan=2 | League ! colspan=2 | [[Emperor's Cup]] ! colspan=2 | [[J.League Cup]] ! colspan=2 | Total |- |[[2001 Albirex Niigata season|2001]]||rowspan="3"|[[Albirex Niigata]]||rowspan="3"|[[J2 League]]||20||0||2||0||2||0||24||0 |- |[[2002 Albirex Niigata season|2002]]||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||3||0 |- |[[2003 Albirex Niigata season|2003]]||4||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||5||0 |- ! colspan=3 |Singapore ! colspan=2 | League ! colspan=2 | [[Singapore Cup]] ! colspan=2 | [[Singapore League Cup|League Cup]] ! colspan=2 | Total |- |2004|| rowspan="2" |[[Albirex Niigata Singapore FC|Albirex Niigata Singapore]]||rowspan="2"|[[S. League]]||26||3||1||0||colspan="2"|-||27||3 |- |2005||25||3||3||0||colspan="2"|-||28||3 |- |2006|| rowspan="4" |[[Singapore Armed Forces FC|Singapore Armed Forces]]||rowspan="4"|[[S. League]]||28||3||3||0||colspan="2"|-||31||3 |- |2007||30||4||6||1||colspan="2"|-||36||5 |- |[[2008 S. League|2008]]||31||4||5||1||colspan="2"|-||36||5 |- |[[2009 S. League|2009]]|||||||||||||| |- !rowspan=2| Country !!colspan=2| Japan !26||0||4||0||2||0||32||0 |- !colspan=2|Singapore !140||20||18||2||colspan="2"|-||158||22 |- !colspan=3|Total !166||20||22||2||2||0||190||22 |}
==Honours== '''Albirex Niigata''' *[[J2 League]]: 2003
'''Singapore Armed Forces''' *[[S.League]]: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 *[[Singapore Cup]]: 2007, 2008
==Videos== *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH26aCCNV48 youtube.com]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Soccerway|kenji--arai/24338}} *{{J.League player|6435}} *[http://ameblo.jp/kenji-arai ameblo.jp] (Official blog) *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090326042655/http://data2.7m.cn/Player_data/48149/en/index.shtml data2.7m.cn]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arai, Kenji}} [[Category:1978 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Rissho University alumni]] [[Category:Football people from Saitama Prefecture]] [[Category:Japanese men's footballers]] [[Category:J2 League players]] [[Category:Singapore Premier League players]] [[Category:Albirex Niigata players]] [[Category:Albirex Niigata Singapore F.C. players]] [[Category:21st-century Japanese sportsmen]] [[Category:Hougang United FC players]] [[Category:Lion City Sailors FC players]] [[Category:Japanese expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Singapore]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Singapore]] [[Category:Men's association football defenders]]