Marcelo Flores could still play for Canada, Mexico, or England, and it depends on the opportunities he is given, according to his father.

As we discussed with Marcelo Flores all the way back in 2019, he has the option to play for Canada, Mexico, or England in the future. At the time, he told Daily Cannon he hadn’t made a final decision on that front.

Two years later, the Arsenal youngster is making great progress with the academy, but his international future remains uncertain. Speaking to ESPN, Marcelo’s father Ruben explained that the latest development is a call-up for Canada’s Gold Cup preliminary list.

“John Herdman, the coach of the Canadian team, spoke to me to invite him,” Ruben Flores said. “Unfortunately this all falls at the same time as pre-season.

“I told him that for me it is more important today to spend pre-season with the first team than to go to a camp where we do not know if [Herdman] is going to pick [Flores] to play.

“What I would not like is for Canada to call him to tie him up so he plays only for Canada and does not have the opportunity to play elsewhere.

“The Canadian coach told me that it is not like that, he assures me that he wants to give Marcelo the opportunity to go to a training camp, meet the players and see what Canada offers him and if he still doesn’t want to play for Canada, that’s fine, no problem.”

Ruben Flores would still ideally like his son to play for Mexico, but he says it’s up to them to convince him they actually want him to do so.

Based on past exclusions, Mexico haven’t really made it clear they value Marcelo, and this is a big decision to make without those reassurances.

“It is about the opportunity and the dream of any footballer, which is to play a World Cup, to be in a selection process,” Ruben continued. “I ask you why didn’t Marcelo go to the U-17 World Cup two years ago with Mexico? Why didn’t they take him?

“Other 2003 category players like him went and they decided not to take him. I don’t understand what the reasoning was for that.

“I want him to play for Mexico but if they don’t give him that opportunity, maybe it will be the best option for Marcelo to make another decision.”

Another option, and one which may well appeal to Arsenal fans (at least those that aren’t Canadian or Mexican), is that Marcelo plays for England.

Obviously, that would be great for English supporters, but for neutrals, it would also mean less international travel for the player. Ruben Flores confirms that’s another possibility.

“We have been here in England for five years and we have all the paperwork ready to be able to play as English,” Ruben admitted. “I know that there is interest from the English team because they tell us all the time.

“I meet scouts at games and people talk about him all the time, the truth is that the range of opportunities is very large, and what I do believe is that we all have to be very professional and do things well.”