Marcelo Flores scored a brace for the Arsenal u16s against Chelsea on Saturday, as the young Gunners progressed to the knockout stages of the u16 Premier League Cup.
After two wins in their opening two games of the group stages, Arsenal u16s knew that a win in their final match would guarantee them progression to the knockout stages. That wasn’t going to be easy though, as their opponents on the day were Chelsea.
Thankfully, Marcelo Flores was on top of his game to help Arsenal to victory. The winger has been one of a few impressive forwards for the team this season, but on this occasion he was the star man, scoring once in each half to secure victory.
In the first 45 minutes, Flores forced a save with a powerful weak-footed effort after dribbling into the box. The Mexico u16 international then gave his team their opening goal with a tap-in from close range after a cross by Brooke Norton-Cuffy.
Norton-Cuffy recently made his debut for the England u16s and scored the winning goal, but on this occasion he’d turned provider with a nice dribble and a driven pass across the box.
After the break, Flores gave Arsenal what would turn out to be the winning goal with a curling effort into the top corner. He pounced on a defensive error after good pressure from Harry Jones won the ball back for the Gunners, and made no mistake with the finish.
You can watch Flores’ highlights from the match below:
As a result of the win, Arsenal now await finding out who they’ll face in the knockout stages.