15-year-old Marcelo Flores signed for Arsenal from Ipswich Town last month, after spending some time on trial, and he’s already settling in well with his new club.
Flores was in high demand when he first moved over to Europe with his family a couple of years ago. Marcelo’s sister Silvana revealed in 2018 that he’d received offers from Barcelona, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, but he ended up choosing Ipswich Town instead.
Speaking to the Daily Cannon after scoring the Arsenal u15s’ only goal in a draw on Saturday, Flores explained how his subsequent move to North London came about.
“I have two sisters that play for Arsenal,” the young midfielder said. “Last year when I played for Ipswich I had good performances against them, so I guess they saw me and knew about me.
“I really like it (at Arsenal so far). It’s good to work beside great players and coaches.”
For the last couple of weeks, though, Flores has been away with the u16 Mexican national team, playing in the Montaigu Tournament. The Arsenal youngster featured in every game as Mexico reached the final, where they just narrowly lost out on penalties to Argentina.
“It was a great tournament and great competition,” Flores said. “The teams we played are top class and we had very good games. This was my first tournament. I participated in five friendlies before, but this was the first one officially competing.”
Although he joined up with Mexico for the Montaigu Tournament, Flores has a number of options for his international future. He’s eligible for Mexico through his father, Canada through where he was born, and England through his mother. He explained that he hasn’t decided where his senior future lies just yet.
“Yes, due to my background I have that opportunity, but I haven’t made a final decision. Right now, Mexico called me and I really enjoyed it,” he said.
Back with Arsenal, Flores revealed who he looks up to in the first team, as well as his goals for the coming season.
“I love (Matteo) Guendouzi, he is a great player,” Flores admitted. “I love how he always passes forward and how good and calm on the ball he is. I also love (Lionel) Messi, (Eden) Hazard and Ronaldinho, who is my favourite player.
“Next season, I want to be a regular starter at Arsenal and perhaps break into the u18s team, and play more international games to get more experience.”
Let’s hope the teenager has a great season and achieves those targets. We’ll leave you with a couple of his goals in the aforementioned friendly matches with Mexico, and his rather unique signature celebration:
— Dan Critchlow (@afcDWvid) April 27, 2019