The midfielder helped Sunderland win promotion to the Premier League in 2005.
Arca played in all but six of Sunderland’s matches as they claimed 94 points to finish the season as champions.
Arca: “People are talking about who will win promotion and who will not, but I know for a fact that it is a very tough league with a lot of teams that are capable of challenging for promotion.
“It is a long season and it’s physically hard. There are good players playing in the Championship, and good teams that are used to being in the Premier League like Middlesbrough.
“You have everything in this league. You can win against the top team in the league, but then get beat against the team that is at the bottom.
“We will see what happens.
It is a competitive league, but we have some good players here who are capable of making a difference.”