Or maybe not as bad as it seems, at least.
Look it is going to be stink that Paul might not play in 2021 for DC United after being absent all of 2020. DC United suffered last year without his drive, skill, and work ethic on and off the ball. When rumors surfaced that Swansea were looking for a loan for him, it seemed all the good feelings from the recent coaching hire evaporated in one rumor. But if we step away and take a look, in the long run this may actually be a good thing for the team.
Let’s start with the coaching hire. Despite his arrival, 2021 was always going to be a year of roster stability for Hernan Losada (read: inability to make sweeping changes to the roster). In a sense, maybe that is a good thing since it allows him to focus on getting the most of what he has. If the team sells Arriola when his loan is completed, that changes the summer window for United. First, Arriola occupies a Designated player slot, and with sale, the team would receive some GAM from selling him and it would allow Losada to bring in an impact player in the summer and perhaps accelerate the rebuild of the team. In addition to those benefits, Arriola’s position has two academy players battling it playing time in that position. The team just drafted Kimarni Smith who would also conceivably slot into that position. Let’s face it, between the academy players, Gressel, Asad, and Smith DC United has a whole lot of cap space tied up into wingers. This could allow them to shift that roster space to getting a big time attacker who could actually compete (and probably beat) Kamara up top.
DC has also become infamous for holding on too long to sell players. They ran down a contract with Bill Hamid and had to buy him back from his Danish club, FC Midtjylland. They balked at the offer from Paris St. Germain for Luciano Acosta only to watch him walk later that year (and play like a distracted and sulking version of himself). It has an impact on whether academy players want to sign deals or players want to come here as a stepping stone to Europe. Selling Arriola along with the recent sale of Chris Durkin would go a long way to actually messaging that the team is not a dead end but a launching point to a lucrative European career. If Arriola succeeds in the Championship or Premier League next year for Swansea it sends a message to the rest of Europe to look at guys like Moises Nyeman, Griffin Yow, and Kevin Paredes.
It’s an unavoidable truth that if Paul Arriola has played his last game for DC United, the team will notice his absence in a major way. His intensity, speed, aggression and skill were consistently the best on the roster, and his absence last year from an ACL injury was dramatically felt. But the caged bird must sing and since Paul wanted a chance to prove himself in Europe, this move had to happen and the team has to prove it can get a transfer right this time.