# Aron Gunnarsson
**Aron Gunnarsson** (full name Aron Einar Malmquist Gunnarsson, born 1989 in Akureyri, Iceland) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder and captained the Iceland national team through its first two major tournaments, UEFA EURO 2016 and the 2018 [FIFA World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-world-cup).[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/) • [2](https://sportbaseline.com/player/aron-gunnarsson-63821) • [3](https://www.tff.org/Resources/TFF/Auto/c09d754a33074fd5ac627282b1f062b3.PDF)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, Akureyri, Iceland; 1.78 m, 70 kg[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/) |
| Position | Defensive midfield (also listed as defender/midfielder)[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/) • [2](https://sportbaseline.com/player/aron-gunnarsson-63821) |
| Clubs | AZ Alkmaar (2007–08), Coventry City (2008–11), Cardiff City (2011–19), Al Arabi (2019–24), Al-Gharafa (2024–)[4](https://www.livescore.com/en/season-stats/aron%20gunnarsson/56369/) |
| League appearances | Coventry 134 (7 goals), Cardiff 286 (25 goals), Al-Arabi 92 (11 goals), Al-Gharafa 39 (1 goal)[5](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/aron-gunnarsson/62096/equipas) |
| International role | Iceland captain; led the team at EURO 2016 and the 2018 World Cup[6](https://time.com/4384950/iceland-euro-2016-england-france-quarterfinal-soccer-football/) • [3](https://www.tff.org/Resources/TFF/Auto/c09d754a33074fd5ac627282b1f062b3.PDF) |
| Major tournaments | EURO 2016 (quarter-finals) and 2018 FIFA World Cup with Iceland[6](https://time.com/4384950/iceland-euro-2016-england-france-quarterfinal-soccer-football/) • [3](https://www.tff.org/Resources/TFF/Auto/c09d754a33074fd5ac627282b1f062b3.PDF) |
## Club career
**Early moves.** Gunnarsson began his senior career in the Netherlands with [AZ Alkmaar](https://www.edgepedia.org/az-alkmaar), joining the club on 1 July 2007 and leaving on 7 July 2008 without establishing himself in the first team.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/) In June 2008 he moved to England, joining Coventry City on a three-year contract; the recorded transfer from AZ Alkmaar's under-21 side to Coventry carried a fee of €0.25 million.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/) • [7](https://www.aiscore.com/en/player-aron-gunnarsson/ezk96inyodhekn5)
At Coventry he became a regular in the Championship, England's second tier, making 134 league appearances over three seasons and scoring 7 league goals.[5](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/aron-gunnarsson/62096/equipas) His 2010–11 season was his most productive there, with 4 goals in 37 league starts.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/)
**Cardiff City, 2011–2019.** Gunnarsson joined Cardiff City on 8 July 2011 and stayed eight seasons, the longest spell of his career.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/) He made 286 league appearances and scored 25 league goals for the Welsh club.[5](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/aron-gunnarsson/62096/equipas) His contract was extended three times, to June 2016 in March 2013, to June 2018 in June 2015, and to June 2019 in July 2018.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/) Those seasons spanned Cardiff's promotion to the Premier League: he played 17 Premier League games with 1 goal in 2013–14 after the first promotion, and 27 Premier League games with 1 goal in 2018–19 after the second.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/)
**Qatar.** On 1 July 2019 Gunnarsson left Cardiff on a free transfer to Al Arabi in Qatar.[8](https://www.sporting-heroes.net/football/cardiff-city-fc/aron-gunnarsson-5080/league-appearances_a31361/) He spent five seasons there, with 92 league appearances and 11 league goals, before joining Al-Gharafa in 2024, where he made 39 league appearances with 1 goal through the 2025–26 season.[5](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/aron-gunnarsson/62096/equipas) • [4](https://www.livescore.com/en/season-stats/aron%20gunnarsson/56369/)
## Iceland national team
Gunnarsson captained Iceland as the country qualified for a major tournament for the first time. A 0–0 draw against [Kazakhstan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kazakhstan) in September 2015 sealed qualification for UEFA EURO 2016, and Gunnarsson said afterward, "We're the first Icelandic team to qualify for a finals – when I started playing football, I never even dreamed this could happen."[9](https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0253-0d805f68c536-2515f4c2cb02-1000--iceland-soak-up-uefa-euro-2016-success/) Iceland had finished ahead of the Netherlands, Turkey, and the Czech Republic in their qualifying group under the management duo of Lars Lagerbäck and [Heimir Hallgrímsson](https://www.edgepedia.org/heimir-hallgrimsson).[9](https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0253-0d805f68c536-2515f4c2cb02-1000--iceland-soak-up-uefa-euro-2016-success/)
At the finals in France, Gunnarsson played every minute of Iceland's group games and the round-of-16 match, appearing in the 1–4–4–2 shape used against Portugal and the 1–4–2–3–1 used elsewhere.[10](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/TechnicalReport/competitions/EURO/02/40/26/69/2402669_DOWNLOAD.pdf) After Iceland beat England 2–1 in Nice to reach the quarter-finals of its first-ever major tournament, Gunnarsson led the players in the slow, accelerating overhead clap toward the supporters that became known as the Viking Clap, with thousands of fans following suit.[6](https://time.com/4384950/iceland-euro-2016-england-france-quarterfinal-soccer-football/) In that England match he also forced a close-range save from goalkeeper [Joe Hart](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-hart) with a hard shot in the 83rd minute.[11](https://as.com/futbol/2016/06/27/eurocopa/1467010460_739236.html)
He remained captain for Iceland's first World Cup appearance. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia he wore shirt number 17 as a midfielder and was listed with Cardiff City, at a listed height of 181 cm.[3](https://www.tff.org/Resources/TFF/Auto/c09d754a33074fd5ac627282b1f062b3.PDF)
## Playing style
Gunnarsson plays as a defensive midfielder, the holding role in front of the back line.[2](https://sportbaseline.com/player/aron-gunnarsson-63821)
## References
1. [Aron Gunnarsson Football Player Statistics, 11v11.com](https://www.11v11.com/players/aron-gunnarsson-228672/)
2. [Aron Gunnarsson – Profile, Stats, Transfers, SportBaseline](https://sportbaseline.com/player/aron-gunnarsson-63821)
3. [FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 squad list, Turkish Football Federation](https://www.tff.org/Resources/TFF/Auto/c09d754a33074fd5ac627282b1f062b3.PDF)
4. [Aron Gunnarsson 25/26 Season Stats – Al-Gharafa, LiveScore](https://www.livescore.com/en/season-stats/aron%20gunnarsson/56369/)
5. [Aron Gunnarsson :: Histórico Equipas, zerozero.pt](https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/aron-gunnarsson/62096/equipas)
6. [Its Performances at Euro 2016 Mean That Iceland Is Now Everybody's Favorite Team, Time](https://time.com/4384950/iceland-euro-2016-england-france-quarterfinal-soccer-football/)
7. [Aron Gunnarsson stats and transfer history, AiScore](https://www.aiscore.com/en/player-aron-gunnarsson/ezk96inyodhekn5)
8. [Aron GUNNARSSON – Cardiff City FC League Appearances, sporting-heroes.net](https://www.sporting-heroes.net/football/cardiff-city-fc/aron-gunnarsson-5080/league-appearances_a31361/)
9. [Iceland soak up UEFA EURO 2016 success, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0253-0d805f68c536-2515f4c2cb02-1000--iceland-soak-up-uefa-euro-2016-success/)
10. [UEFA EURO 2016 technical report, UEFA](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/TechnicalReport/competitions/EURO/02/40/26/69/2402669_DOWNLOAD.pdf)
11. [Inglaterra 1–2 Islandia: resumen, resultado y goles, AS](https://as.com/futbol/2016/06/27/eurocopa/1467010460_739236.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license