Looking at how Halifax Wanderers attacker Miguel Arilla has vaulted to the top of the CPL’s assist chart

After earning a pair of assists in the Halifax Wanderers' recent clash against FC Supra du Québec, Spanish attacking midfielder Miguel Arilla jumped atop the Canadian Premier League’s assist chart. 

SET PIECE PERFECTION. 🎯💥

Cyprian Kachwele gets his head to it first to send the Halifax faithful into a frenzy!#CPLSoccer | @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/KZDNqhgAAy

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) July 24, 2026

Sitting with five assists on the season, Arilla has proven to be a revelation for the Wanderers so far, with all five of those assists coming in his team’s last eight CPL games. 

DÉJÀ VU AT THE GROUNDS. 🔄🔥

Set pieces are lethal today. Finn Linder guides it into the side netting to double the advantage for the Wanderers!#CPLSoccer | @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/CiNSoBMVpN

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) July 24, 2026

Now, as it stands, Arilla’s on pace to match the league’s single-season record, which is currently held by Sean Rea, who had nine assists for Valour FC during the 2022 campaign. And, if he continues the pace he’s found lately, he could soon be in position to smash that record, powered by the work of his excellent left foot. 

Of course, it’s far too early to say whether or not Arilla will be able to sustain this sort of pace, as it can be hard for creative attackers to consistently rack up assists over an extended period of time. At the end of the day, assists are a very volatile stat, one that depends on factors outside of Arilla’s control. 

For example, it can’t be forgotten that David Rodríguez had at one point looked likely to absolutely smash Rea’s record last season, as he opened the 2025 campaign with five assists in his first 10 appearances, before finishing with just three assists in his last 17 games. And that was despite being the league’s runaway leader in chances created with 73 and in big chances created with 18. 

By comparison, Arilla has created just 11 chances so far this season (although four of them have been big chances), showing that he’s not even been anywhere close to what Rodríguez achieved last year. 

At the same time, it’s worth noting that, as seen by his recent output, Arilla has been becoming a lot more dangerous as of late. It’s not as if this recent run of assists has come out of nowhere, as he’s shown glimpses of being one of the most creative players in the CPL once elevated into a more prominent role on the Wanderers. 

SPECIAL DELIVERY FROM ARILLA. 🚚💨

A look at tonight's @WalmartCanada Delivery of the Match!#CPLSoccer | 📺: @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/tCzdll3hR4

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) June 27, 2026

Since May 30th, when he earned his first assist, Arilla is 15th in the CPL in passes into the box with 22, 16th in chances created with seven, third in big chances created with four and sixth in Expected Assists with 1.64. 

That’s important to distinguish, because since May 30th, Arilla has started six out of a possible eight games for the Wanderers - before then, he had only started two of the Wanderers' first seven games of the season. What that shows, though, is why he doesn’t have the most chance creation volume quite yet - and why it’s important to look at his numbers since May 30th to get a better idea of what he’s been able to do once he earned an elevated role. 

CHICKA CHICKA BOOM💥

Tavio Ciccarelli breaks the deadlock in stoppage time to secure the first win at Wanderers Grounds this season!@VWcanada Moment of the Match#CPLSoccer | 📺: @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/GZuLycV0OF

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) May 30, 2026

Plus, he’s proven to be a pretty versatile chance creator, too - two of his assists have come off set-pieces (both against Supra), while three of his other assists all came from open play, which is impressive. He’s proving to be dangerous in multiple phases of play, which could help him sustain these numbers.

And, it’s not as if this stretch is completely out of the ordinary for Arilla, either, who came to the Wanderers from the NCAA, where he spent the last three years with the Creighton Blue Jays. With Creighton, he had 15 assists in 47 games across three years, with his best output coming in 2024, when he had seven assists in 15 games. He proved in college that he can be a top creator over the course of multiple NCAA seasons, which is encouraging to see. 

Because of that, it makes his numbers from this recent hot stretch look a lot more sustainable, especially when considering that he’s still adapting to life at the professional level. It can’t be forgotten that while he spent time with La Liga side Valencia CF’s first team as a youngster, his only other professional experience before this season was a loan to Spanish fourth-tier side Torrent CF before he went to college. 

Therefore, look for him to continue to build comfort in the Wanderers system, one that has proven to suit him quite nicely. With manager Vanni Sartini preferring a system that usually uses two #10s in possession, Arilla has been a nice fit alongside Isaiah Johnston in that dual #10 role, serving as a perfect replacement for Rea, ironically, who had two goals and five assists for the Wanderers last season before moving on to join FC Supra du Québec this season.

Here's Arilla's pass map from this season, showing the involvement he's had in the final third for the Halifax Wanderers (OPTA)

As a reminder, Johnston is also having a pretty good season of his own, sitting with six goals and two assists in 15 games, which shows that he and Arilla have formed a nice 1-2 punch down the middle for this Wanderers side. 

Along with the emergence of Tavio Ciccarrelli, who has scored five goals as a striker, that’s given the Wanderers a bit of juice offensively, as reflected by the fact that they’ve scored 11 goals in their last five CPL games - they scored just nine in their first 10 games of the season for context. The numbers back up this recent run, too, as they're third in the league in xG with 19.67, showing that their offensive numbers have been pretty sustainable. 

Now, the challenge will be for the Wanderers to tighten up defensively, as they’ve conceded 24 goals in 15 games and have kept just two clean sheets. Yet, that shows why they’ve only won two and drawn one of those last five games, as they’ve been unable to turn this offensive outburst into the sort of positive results they were hoping to earn out of this stretch. 

In particular, that they were unable to hold onto a 2-0 lead in their most recent matchup against FC Supra du Québec (the game in which Arilla earned two assists), as they gave up three unanswered goals, gives an idea of the Wanderers' defensive struggles. 

In theory, there are reasons to suggest that the Wanderers have the pieces to be tighter defensively. Thomas Meilleur-Giguère has recently returned from a long-term injury, which should bring stability to the backline, while goalkeeper Marco Carducci has continued to adjust to life at his new club after six seasons with Cavalry FC. 

Up front, though, the Wanderers had a lot more question marks to answer as they started the season slowly in attack, with the likes of Ciccarrelli, Arilla and Cyprian Kachwele all being unproven commodities, which shows why the emergence of the former two, especially Arilla, has been so key (especially when seeing how it has helped Johnston, who started the season brightly despite a lack of attacking support). 

Therefore, even if Arilla slows down a bit, the Wanderers will hope that he can continue to be a key piece in their attack going forward. 

CALLEGARI COMES UP CLUTCH! ⚓️

The midfielder runs to the back post, and gets on the end of a great ball from Miguel Arilla and gives @HFXWanderersFC the lead! #CPLSoccer | 📺: @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/CxhM10VvnQ

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) July 6, 2026

Having proven to be a good Rea replacement, he’ll want to show that this recent stretch is a reflection of what he’s capable of in a bigger role, one that can help the Wanderers push up the table. Given that he's only scored one goal for the Wanderers, after scoring 14 goals during his NCAA career, shows that he hasn't fully scratched the surface in terms of his offensive capabilities. 

Halifax add a second! 🔥

An excellent turn and finish from Arilla, and the hosts have two at home! #CPLSoccer | 📺: @OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/EBxbLOVVIo

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) June 26, 2026

Currently sitting four points out of a playoff spot, with an extra game played over fourth-place Vancouver FC, the Wanderers have a hill to climb, but perhaps they’ll feel that their rejuvenated attack can power them up the table - especially if they can indeed clean things up defensively.

Here's Arilla's shot map from this season, showing that he has more to unlock on this side of this game (OPTA)