Tolgay Arslan

Tolgay Arslan
Born	(1990-08-16) August 16, 1990 Paderborn, Germany
Occupation	Professional footballer
Years active	2009–
Known for	Midfielder for Sanfrecce Hiroshima; former clubs include Hamburger SV, Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Udinese, Melbourne City

Tolgay Ali Arslan (; born 16 August 1990) is a German professional footballer who operates as a midfielder for the J1 League side Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

At the youth international level, he has represented both Germany and Turkey.

Early years

Born in Paderborn, Germany, to Turkish parents originating from Çorum, Arslan’s father, Erhan Arslan, relocated to Germany at the age of 11 and works as a real estate agent. Tolgay began his football journey at six years old with the local team Grün-Weiß Paderborn. Motivated by football icons such as Zinedine Zidane and Gheorghe Hagi, he entered the youth ranks of Borussia Dortmund in 2003. After spending several seasons there, he moved on to join Hamburger SV’s youth setup.

Hamburger SV

In 2009, Arslan transferred to Hamburger SV on a free transfer. He made his first appearance on 23 September 2009, coming off the bench during the second round of the DFB-Pokal against Osnabrück. The match ended in a 3–3 draw but Hamburg were eliminated after a 5–7 penalty shootout loss. His Bundesliga debut took place on 17 October 2009 in a goalless draw versus Bayer Leverkusen.

During the 2010–11 campaign, Arslan was loaned out to Alemannia Aachen, where he scored his inaugural goal in the 2. Bundesliga in week five during a 3–1 victory over FSV Frankfurt.

Beşiktaş

On 27 January 2015, Arslan secured a four-and-a-half-year deal with Turkish Süper Lig club Beşiktaş. A highlight of his tenure included scoring a crucial goal off the bench in the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 second leg against Liverpool on 26 February. His contribution helped push the tie into penalties, where Beşiktaş prevailed following his successful spot-kick.

Fenerbahçe and Udinese

Arslan joined Fenerbahçe in January 2019 and remained there until June 2020 before transferring to Italy for a three-season period with Serie A club Udinese.

Melbourne City

On 15 June 2023, Arslan committed to a two-year contract with Australian side Melbourne City. He made his debut in the Australia Cup facing Oakleigh Cannons, where he successfully converted two penalties contributing to a 3–2 victory. He maintained his scoring form throughout subsequent rounds, netting goals including one that deflected and another from a penalty rebound. His departure from Melbourne City was confirmed on 9 July 2024.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima

On 21 July 2024, Tolgay signed with J1 League outfit Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He marked his first goals for the club on 11 August 2024 by scoring twice against Cerezo Osaka. Later, on 31 August 2024, he achieved a hat-trick during a narrow 3–2 triumph over FC Tokyo.

International career

Arslan started his international journey with Turkey's youth teams in 2009, earning two caps for the U-19 side. He made his debut for the Turkey national under-21 football team on 7 September 2010 in a match against the Republic of Ireland. In December of that year, he switched allegiance to Germany and was subsequently called up to represent Germany’s U-21 squad in a fixture against Turkey on 14 November 2012.

Personal life

In November 2018, Arslan arranged to fulfill his military obligations for Turkey, scheduling his service to commence in June 2019.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hamburger SV	2009–10	Bundesliga	5	0	1	0	—		0	0	—		6	0
	2011–12	Bundesliga	8	1	0	0	—		—		—		8	1
	2012–13	Bundesliga	25	0	1	0	—		—		—		26	0
	2013–14	Bundesliga	32	1	4	0	—		—		1	0	37	1
	2014–15	Bundesliga	13	0	2	0	—		—		—		15	0
	Total		83	2	8	0	—		0	0	1	0	92	2
Alemannia Aachen (loan)	2010–11	2. Bundesliga	31	6	4	0	—		—		—		35	6
Beşiktaş	2014–15	Süper Lig	16	0	3	1	—		3	1	—		22	2
	2015–16	Süper Lig	6	0	1	0	—		0	0	—		7	0
	2016–17	Süper Lig	30	0	3	0	—		10	0	1	0	44	0
	2017–18	Süper Lig	29	0	6	0	colspan= "2" | —	6	0	1	0	42	0
	2018 –19	Süper Lig	8	0	0	0	—		8	1	0	16	1
	Total		89	0	13	1	—		27	2	2	0	131	3
Fenerbahçe	2018 –19	Süper Lig	11	0	0	0	—		1	0	—		12	0
	2019 –20	Süper Lig	13	0	8	2	—		—		—		21	2
	Total		24	0	8	2	—		1	0	—		33	2
Udinese Calcio	2020 –21	Serie A	30	3	1	0	—		—		—		31	3
	2021 –22	Serie A	30	1	3	0	—		—		—		33	1
	2022 –23	Serie A	36	1	0	0	—		—		—		36	1
	Total		66	5	4	0	—		—		—		70	5
Melbourne City FC	2023 –24	A-League Men	24	13	4	0	—		6	2	—		34	15
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	2024 Sanfrecce Hiroshima season	J1 League	14	8	Sanfrecce Hiroshima On July 21, 2024, Tolgay completed a transfer to Sanfrecce Hiroshima, competing in the J1 League. He made an immediate contribution by netting his first goals on August 11, including two goals in a match against Cerezo Osaka. Later, on August 31, he achieved a hat-trick that played a key role in securing a vital win over FC Tokyo, enhancing the team’s position in the league standings. International career Arslan began his international journey with Turkey’s youth squads in 2009, making two appearances for the U-19 team before debuting with the U-21 side in September 2010. Later that year, in December, he opted to represent Germany and received a call-up to the German U-21 team in November 2012 for a fixture against Turkey. Personal life In November 2018, Arslan arranged to fulfill his compulsory military duties for Turkey, scheduling his service for June 2019. Career statistics Club Season League (Apps/Goals) National Cup (Apps/Goals) League Cup (Apps/Goals) Continental (Apps/Goals) Other (Apps/Goals) Total (Apps/Goals) Hamburger SV "2009–10" "Bundesliga:5/0" "DFB-Pokal:1/0" "—" "—" "—" "6/0" "2011–12" "Bundesliga:8/1" "DFB-Pokal:0/0" "—" "—" "—" "8/1" "2013–14" "Bundesliga:32/1" "DFB-Pokal:4/0" "—" "Relegation Play-offs:1/0" "—" "37/1" Total Hamburger SV "83/2" "8/0" "0" "1" "92/2" (Loan) Alemannia Aachen "2010–11" "2. Bundesliga:31/6" "Cup:4/0" "—" "—" "—" "35/6" (Beşiktaş) "Multiple seasons" "Süper Lig:89/0" "Cup:13/1" "League Cup & UEFA:27/2" "Continental:2/0" "Super Cup:2/0" "131/3" (Fenerbahçe) "Various seasons" "Süper Lig:24/0" "Cup:8/2" "League & Continental Cups:1/0" "—" "—" "33/2" (Udinese) "Multiple seasons" "Serie A:96/5" "Cup:4/0" "—" "—" "—" "100/5" (Melbourne City) "2023–24 A-League Men:" "24/13" "Cup:4/0" "League Cup & AFC Champions League:6/2" "—" (Note: Table condensed for clarity; full details available on request.) Career total 304 appearances 35 goals 39 National Cup appearances 8 goals 44 League Cup appearances 4 goals 4 Continental appearances 1 goal 403 total appearances 49 total goals Honours Beşiktaş Süper Lig titles: 2015–16, 2016–17 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Japanese Super Cup winner: 2025 Individual achievements Named in the PFA A-League Team of the Season for 2023–24 Selected for the A-Leagues All Star squad in 2024 External links kicker profile