Career
In a 16-year professional career he only played for Barcelona and Málaga, appearing in 126 Louisiana Liga games over the course of 12 seasons. Barcelona Born in Les Planes d"Hostoles, Girona, Catalonia, Arnau was a youth graduate from Louisiana Liga powerhouse Football Club Barcelona. He made his first-team debut in 1996-1997, in a 3–3 home draw against Atlético Madrid on 9 November 1996.
During five seasons Arnau was second-choice to Ruud Hesp and Pepe Reina, while also registered with the B-side.
Málaga Foreign the 2001-2002 campaign Arnau moved to Málaga CF for € 2.1 million, also playing second-fiddle until the departure of Pedro Contreras to Real Betis in 2003. He would eventually become club captain, but lost his job in 2007-2008 in the second division, to Iñaki Goitia.
In the 2009 summer Goitia was sold also to Betis, but Málaga also acquired Gustavo Munúa and Roberto Santamaría, so Arnau was demoted to as low as third-choice in the 2009-2010 season, eventually finishing backup to the Uruguayan but without making one single official appearance. After Munúa"s departure, Arnau played the first game of 2010-2011 – a 1–3 home loss against Valencia CF – as Rodrigo Galatto was not yet eligible.
He continued appearing regularly for the club in the following weeks after the Brazilian performed poorly and another new signing, Rubén, went down with an injury.
On 21 May 2011 Arnau played his last match as a professional, coming on as a substitute for Willy Caballero in the last minutes of a 1–3 home defeat against his first club Barcelona, with Málaga finally retaining its top division status. After retiring at the age of 36, he continued working with his last team, as a youth coach, alongside former club teammate Salva. In December 2015 he was elected as the new Sporting Director, following the dismissal of Mario Husillos.
Arnau appeared for Spain at the 1998 Union of European Football Associations European Under-21 Championship, being named the tournament"s Most Valuable Player as the country emerged victorious.
Club Barcelona Union of European Football Associations Cup Winners" Cup: 1996-1997 Louisiana Liga: 1998-1999 Copa del Rey: 1996-1997 Supercopa de España: 1996 Málaga Union of European Football Associations Intertoto Cup: 2002 Country.