Quick Facts
Biography
Harry Nicholas Arter (born 28 December 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Bournemouth and the Republic of Ireland national team.
He began his career at Charlton Athletic, where he made one substitute appearance in 2007 and was loaned to non-league Staines Town and Welling United before leaving for Woking. After one season at Woking, he returned to The Football League with Bournemouth, becoming a regular following a loan to Carlisle United in 2011. He contributed to Bournemouth's promotion to the Championship in 2013, and to the Premier League two years later.
Born and raised in England, Arter represents the Republic of Ireland internationally. He played for the nation at under-17 and under-19 level, and made his senior debut in June 2015.
Club career
Charlton Athletic
Born in Sidcup, in the London borough of Bexley, Arter began his career at Charlton Athletic. He made his professional debut, and only appearance for the club, on 25 September 2007 in the third round of the League Cup, away to Luton Town. He came on as an 86th-minute substitute for Svetoslav Todorov as Charlton lost 1–3 after extra time.
In the 2008–09 season, he had loan spells with Staines Town and Welling United.
After his release from Charlton Arter undertook unsuccessful trials with Gillingham and Ipswich Town.
Woking
On 2 June 2009, Arter joined Woking on a one-year contract. At the end of the 2009–10 season, it was well documented that Arter would be leaving Woking, with several Football League clubs chasing Arter. Woking's website soon confirmed that Arter had agreed to sign for Bournemouth with the fee to be decided by an FA tribunal, as the two clubs could not agree a transfer fee.
Bournemouth
On 7 June 2010, Arter joined League One club Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee, signed by Eddie Howe. Two months later, he made his debut in their first match of the season, away to his former team Charlton. He was booked in the first half for a foul on Akpo Sodje and substituted at half time for Michael Symes as Bournemouth lost 0–1. Having fallen out of favour, on 4 March 2011, Arter went on a one-month loan to fellow League One team Carlisle United. The next day he made his debut for the club, replacing Liam Noble for the last 30 minutes away to Brighton & Hove Albion. He scored an added-time equaliser, the first of his professional career, but a minute later Liam Bridcutt scored Brighton's winner in a 4–3 victory.
On 13 August 2011, Arter replaced Mark Molesley in the 66th minute of a game against Sheffield Wednesday at Dean Court, and 17 minutes later confirmed a 2–0 win with his first goal for the club. Overall, he scored 5 goals in 34 league matches that season.
Arter was sent off after 26 minutes on 25 August 2012, in Bournemouth's 1–1 draw at Preston North End. On 20 October, in Howe's first match back in charge, Arter scored in a 3–1 home win over Tranmere Rovers. Altogether, he scored 8 goals in 37 league matches, including in the 3–1 win for the penultimate game of the season against Carlisle on 20 April 2013, which secured Bournemouth promotion to the Championship.
Arter was one of Bournemouth's prominent players in the 2014–15 season, contributing 9 goals from 43 matches, and subsequently was voted Supporters’ Player of the Season. On 25 October 2014, Arter played as Bournemouth beat Birmingham City 8–0 away to set a club record win, the result came only 1 week after fellow south coast club Southampton had beaten Sunderland 8–0. Throughout the season Arter and midfielder Andrew Surman formed a formidable partnership, with Arter more the attacking and Surman the more defensive of the two. Harry was known for his left footed strikes from range, notably scoring the second goal in the 3–0 home victory over promotion rivals Middlesbrough and first goal in the 1–1 away draw against 2nd placed Watford. On April 27, 2015 Arter played in the 3–0 home victory against Bolton, the win all but sealed Bournemouth’s promotion to the Premier League. Five days later, Arter scored the second goal in the 3–0 away win against his former club Charlton, the win fully sealed promotion and, thanks to Watford drawing their last match in injury time, the Championship title. This was the first time Bournemouth had been promoted into England’s top flight in the club's 125-year history.
Due to groin and hip complaints after his international debut, Arter missed the start of their first top-flight season. He made his Premier League debut on 1 November 2015 as he played 73 minutes in their 2–0 loss away to Southampton.
International career
Arter played for the Republic of Ireland under-17 and under-19 teams, being eligible through his Sligo-born grandparents.
In February 2015, Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill said that Arter was on his radar and could be called up to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying game against Poland. He earned his first call-up for that game on 12 March, following what O'Neill described as a "very good season", but did not play in it. He made his senior debut on 7 June 2015, as a 63rd-minute substitute for Glenn Whelan in a 0–0 draw in a friendly against England at the Aviva Stadium. He made his full international debut against the Netherlands in a 1–1 draw in Dublin on 27 May 2016, in which he was awarded man of the match. Arter made his senior competitive debut for the Republic of Ireland in a 1–0 away win over Austria on 12 November 2016 in a World Cup qualifying game.
Personal life
Arter is the brother-in-law of former England captain Scott Parker, who is married to his sister Carly. They both began their careers at Charlton.
In December 2015, Harry Arter and his partner suffered a family tragedy when their daughter died at birth. Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe paid tribute to Arter following a 2–1 win over Manchester United on 12 December. Howe dedicated the win to Arter and said it had been "a hugely emotional week for him." In October 2016, Arter shared the happy news of his wife being pregnant again.
Career statistics
- As of match played 21 August 2016.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 2007–08 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Woking | 2009–10 | Conference South | 36 | 5 | 5 | 3 | — | 3 | 1 | 44 | 9 | |
| Bournemouth | 2010–11 | League One | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2011–12 | League One | 34 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 6 | |
| 2012–13 | League One | 37 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 8 | |
| 2013–14 | Championship | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 3 | ||
| 2014–15 | Championship | 38 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 42 | 8 | ||
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 181 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 201 | 26 | ||
| Carlisle United (loan) | 2010–11 | League One | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 222 | 31 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 251 | 36 | ||
Honours
- Bournemouth
- Football League Championship: 2014–15
- "Charlton 0-3 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.