Billy Vladimir Arce Mina (born 12 July 1998) is an Ecuadorian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays either as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or a forward for Atletico Nacional.

Club career

Independiente del Valle

Born in Esmeraldas, Arce finished his formation with

Independiente del Valle Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle, known simply as Independiente del Valle, is a professional football club based in Sangolquí Ecuador that currently plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A. Founded in 1958, the club plays ...

, after playing for Emelec, CSCD Fedeguayas and CSCD La Paz. He made his first-team debut for the former on 5 February 2017, starting and scoring the game's only through a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a home defeat of Deportivo Cuenca. On 25 November 2017, Arce scored a brace in a 4–1 home routing of Guayaquil City. He finished his first senior campaign with 12 goals in 39 appearances, being the club's second-best goalscorer behind Michael Estrada.

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 3 August 2018, Independiente del Valle confirmed Arce's transfer to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. His new club officially announced the deal four days later, on a reported four-year contract.

Loan to Extremadura

On the same day for being announced at the English club, Arce penned a loan move to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

club

Extremadura UD Extremadura Unión Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2007, it last played in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Francisco de la ...

. He only featured in four matches overall for the club, and left in December after "having trouble adapting to the league".

Loan to Emelec

On 8 January 2019, after being rarely used, Arce returned to his home country after agreeing a loan move to Emelec. In May, he was left out of several matches of the club after being photographed in a party, being subsequently demoted to the reserve squad before leaving.

Loan to Barcelona SC

After being rarely used, Arce moved to fellow league team

Barcelona SC Barcelona Sporting Club (), internationally known as Barcelona de Guayaquil, is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of fo ...

also on loan on 23 July 2019. He spent the month of October away from trainings after being arrested, only returning on the 25th.

Loan to LDU Quito

On 24 January 2020, Arce was announced at LDU Quito. Regularly used as a substitute, his loan was renewed for a further year on 29 January 2021.

Return to Brighton

On 31 January 2022, Brighton announced the return of Arce, and initially assigned him to the under-23 squad. On 1 March, the club reached an agreement with Arce to terminate his contract; he left the club without making a senior appearance for them.

Independiente del Valle return

On 8 March 2022, Arce returned to his first club Independiente del Valle on a deal until the end of the year. He left the club in July, after just 17 matches.

Peñarol

On 20 July 2022, Arce was announced at

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , , local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional Association football, football league in Uruguay organized b ...

side

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

on a short-term contract. He only featured in three matches, and was deemed surplus to requirements in September.

Deportivo Pasto

On 6 January 2023, Arce switched teams and countries again, after signing for Colombian

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...

side Deportivo Pasto. Despite being regularly used, he left the side in June.

Once Caldas

On 17 June 2023, Arce was presented at

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. The club plays its home games at Estadio Palogrande. The club wa ...

. He became an undisputed starter for the side, but departed the club roughly one year later.

Santos

On 31 July 2024,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Arce signed a contract with

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B, the Série B or the Brazilian Série B to distinguish it from the Italian and the Ecuadorian Serie B), and currently officially called Brasileirão Série B ...

side Santos until December 2025. He made his debut for the club on 17 August, replacing Serginho in a 1–0 home loss to

Avaí Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 5,436 (2020 est.) in an area of 540 km2. Media In telecommunications, the city was served by Companhia Telefônica Brasileira until 1973, when it began to be serve ...

. On 20 December 2024, after just two matches and 35 minutes of action, Arce's contract with Santos was rescinded.

Personal life

In October 2019, Arce was jailed for twenty days having been arrested for

drink-driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

Career statistics

Honours

Santos *

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arce, Billy 1998 births Living people Footballers from Esmeraldas, Ecuador Ecuadorian men's footballers 21st-century Ecuadorian sportsmen Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards Ecuadorian Serie A players Segunda División players Uruguayan Primera División players Categoría Primera A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Independiente del Valle footballers C.S. Emelec footballers Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Extremadura UD footballers Barcelona S.C. footballers L.D.U. Quito footballers Peñarol players Deportivo Pasto footballers Once Caldas footballers Santos FC players Ecuadorian expatriate men's footballers Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in England Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Uruguay Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil