Arnaud Gonzalez (born 24 August 1977) is a retired French professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Gonzalez started his career with AJ Auxerre, joining the club's youth setup at the age of 14. He made his senior debut in 1996, but failed to break into the first-team during the early stages of his career. Whilst with Auxerre, he represented France at under-19 level and was part of the team that won the 1996 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. Gonzalez spent the 2000–01 season on loan at AS Beauvais Oise, where he scored two goals in 34 league matches. He then returned to Auxerre for four seasons before joining EA Guingamp in the summer of 2005. After one season with Guingamp he signed for Chamois Niortais and was a member of the squad that suffered successive relegations in 2008 and 2009, before winning the Championnat de France amateur Group C in 2010. He remained with Niort until 11 February 2013, when he announced his immediate retirement from football. Early career Gonzalez was born in Dijon, Côte-d'Or, on 24 August 1977. He played junior football with local team Marsannay-la-Côte until 1992, when he joined the youth setup at AJ Auxerre at the age of 14. He played in the Auxerre side that won the France Under-17s cup in 1994. Gonzalez was selected to represent the France national under-19 football team at the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship in 1996. He played alongside footballers such as Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Mikael Silvestre and Yoann Bigné in the team that won the competition, defeating Spain in the final. Senior career Gonzalez was promoted to the Auxerre first-team in 1995 and made his Ligue 1 debut on 27 January 1996 in the 1–0 victory against Le Havre AC, as a replacement for Christophe Cocard, who was suspended for the game. Gonzalez did not make another league appearance for the club during the 1995–96 season as they won Ligue 1 and were crowned champions of France. He spent the whole of the following campaign in the reserves, scoring 9 goals in 21 matches. Gonzalez returned to the first-team towards the end of the 1997–98 season, and scored his first senior goal for Auxerre in the 2–1 win away at SC Bastia on 7 March 1998. He also made one brief appearance in the UEFA Cup. Gonzalez attributed his lack of first-team experience in his