On 27 February 2020, in the 119th minute of extra time at the Emirates Stadium, Youssef El-Arabi scored the goal that knocked Arsenal out of the Europa League on away goals. That goal sums up the career of a striker born on 3 February 1987 in Caen, France, a Morocco international who played in France, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Qatar, Greece and Cyprus. On 1 August 2026 he signed for Marko, in the Greek second tier.
Early years in Normandy
He started in the Stade Malherbe Caen academy in 2001–02. He then moved through two small local clubs: SC Hérouville from 2002 to 2004 and USON Mondeville from 2004 to 2007. He returned to Caen in 2007 to play for the reserve side, scoring 13 goals in 48 matches. He made his first-team debut on 20 December 2008, coming off the bench against Olympique Lyon. In 2009–10 he was part of the squad that won Ligue 2 and took Caen back to the top flight. He left in 2011 with 30 goals in 79 competitive first-team matches.
Al-Hilal and Granada
In July 2011 he joined Saudi club Al-Hilal. He scored 16 goals in 32 games and won the 2011–12 Crown Prince Cup. A year later, in July 2012, Granada made him the most expensive signing in their history up to that point. He spent four seasons in the Spanish top flight, with 134 appearances and 45 goals. In November 2013 he scored his first La Liga hat-trick in a 3–1 win over Málaga. In October 2014 he scored against the same opponents again, this time inside the first minute. His last season at Granada, 2015–16, ended with the team avoiding relegation.
Scoring goals in Qatar
In July 2016 he moved to Lekhwiya, a club renamed Al-Duhail shortly afterwards. In three seasons he scored 107 goals in 95 competitive matches, 76 of them in the league. He was top scorer in the Qatar Stars League in 2016–17 and 2017–18, the two seasons in which his side won the title. In December 2017 he scored six goals in an 8–0 win over Al-Khor in the Qatari League Cup. He also won two Emir Cups (2018 and 2019), the 2018 Qatar Cup and the 2016 Sheikh Jassim Cup.
Five seasons at Olympiacos
He joined Olympiacos in July 2019. In the Champions League play-off he scored both goals in a 2–1 win in Krasnodar, completing a 6–1 aggregate victory and a place in the group stage. The goal in London against Arsenal came that same season, and the team won the Greek league and cup double. He was the Greek league's top scorer in 2019–20 and 2020–21, and was named the league's player of the season in 2020–21. He won three league titles in a row, from 2020 to 2022. In November 2021 he became the club's leading scorer in European competition with 16 goals, and a month later he reached 50 league goals in 81 games. His five hat-tricks are an Olympiacos record. He was in the squad that won the 2024 Conference League, and in July that year he left when his contract expired, with 94 goals in 225 matches.
Morocco international
He made his Morocco debut on 5 September 2010 as a substitute against the Central African Republic. He played at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, where Morocco went out in the group stage, and at the 2013 edition in South Africa, where he scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Cape Verde. In March 2016 he scored both goals in a 2–0 qualifying win over Cape Verde on the way to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations; at that tournament he played eleven minutes as Morocco reached the quarter-finals. He was left out of the squad for the 2018 World Cup. Between 2010 and 2021 he won 47 caps and scored 16 goals for Morocco.
Cyprus, Nantes and Marko
In the summer of 2024 he signed for APOEL Nicosia. He won the 2024 Cypriot Super Cup and finished 2024–25 as top scorer in the Cypriot First Division. On 18 July 2025 he returned to France to join Nantes. In September 2025 he scored in a 2–2 draw with Rennes and became the oldest goalscorer in the club's history; Nantes were relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of that season. On 1 August 2026 he signed for Marko, of Greece's Super League 2.
MarkoForwardMarket value €120.0K