Born in
Pamplona,
Navarre, Arbilla began his senior career in 2004 with
CD Basconia,
Athletic Bilbao's
farm team, and made his debut for
the reserves in the
Segunda División B later in the same season. After another two full seasons there, he had no real prospect of displacing
Andoni Iraola in the first team and even with the departures of
Unai Expósito and
Iban Zubiaurre, the younger
Eneko Bóveda was installed as understudy to Iraola and Arbilla was loaned out by Athletic to another Segunda B club in the
Basque Country,
Barakaldo CF. Arbilla moved to
Polideportivo Ejido (also in division three) for the
2009–10 campaign. The
following year, he had his first experience in the
Segunda División, joining
UD Salamanca and starting in 29 league games as the
Castile and León team suffered relegation. In late August 2011, Arbilla moved to another side in the second division,
Hércules CF, for a
€200,000 fee. Arbilla reached
La Liga in January 2013, after arriving as a
free agent at
Rayo Vallecano. He made his debut in the
Spanish top flight on 10 February 2013, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 home win against
Atlético Madrid. He started in eight of his 11 appearances as the
Madrid outskirts club eventually
retained its league status. Arbilla scored his first goal for Rayo and in the top tier on 8 February 2014, his team's second in the 4–1 victory over
Málaga CF also at
Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas. He joined
RCD Espanyol in 2014 and established himself as a starter in the second part of his first season in
Catalonia, but the second was ruined by a serious injury to the
Achilles tendon of his left leg which eventually required surgery. Now recovered but out of favour at Espanyol, on 30 August 2016 he signed a three-year deal with
SD Eibar of the same division. Having been at other clubs for a maximum of two years he became settled at the
Armeros, eventually becoming club captain, and in April 2026, aged 38, reached the milestone of 300 appearances spread over a decade (five seasons battling relegation in the top division, then five challenging for promotion in the second tier). ==References==