Arques takes the place of Cam Devlin, after the Olyroos playmaker triggered a buyout clause to join Scotland Premier League club Hearts.

Devlin signed a two-year contract with Newcastle in June but had not linked with the club.

Arques has been brought in to fill the void and will be central to Papas' rebuild.

The 29-year-old Spaniard is a product of the Villarreal youth academy and played for Elche in the La Liga.

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Described as a "beast", Arques has also played in the Ukraine and in the Indian Super League, which is where he grabbed the attention of Papas. Papas spent four years in India.

"Mario is an elegant player who always wants the ball," Papas said.

"He has the ability to dictate the tempo of the game and provides a very strong presence on set-pieces."

Arques spent last season in Malaysia and was "excited" to start a new chapter in Newcastle.

"I'm really thankful for the club putting their trust in me," he said. "I'm looking forward to developing my game and learning from Arthur and all my teammates. My goal is to give 110 per cent every game for the team and work hard every day to help get the team to the top."

Arques completes hotel quarantine in Sydney later this week. He will undergo a medical before starting training next week.

Mo Al-Taay, who joined the Jets from Wanderers but is yet to play an A-League game, and injured veteran Ben Kantarovski are the other genuine holding midfielders on the roster.

Arques' signature follows that of striker Eli Babalj on Monday and takes the Jets roster to 26 players, including scholarship holder Archie Goodwin, Blake Archbold, Noah James and Lucas Mauragis, who do not count in the 23 man squads.

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