Marcelo Flores is yet to play for Real Oviedo in 2023, raising questions about Arsenal’s decision not to recall him in January.

Real Oviedo have now played seven matches in 2023, and Arsenal loanee Marcelo Flores has made the matchday squad for all of them.

Yet the winger hasn’t appeared on the pitch for a single minute of those fixtures.

Before the turn of the year, Flores had made 14 appearances for Real Oviedo, including seven starts. He’d played 628 minutes from a possible 2,070, and the topic of a loan recall was regularly discussed in the Spanish media.

But despite Flores sitting on the bench throughout Oviedo’s five January fixtures, Arsenal didn’t act to recall and re-loan him.

It’s possible Arsenal didn’t feel there was a better option out there, or that a deal to send him elsewhere fell through.

All the same, with the amount of time that Flores is currently spending on the pitch, even simply recalling him to the academy seems like a superior option.

Salah-Eddine Oulad M’hand didn’t play a minute of football in the first half of the campaign with Hull City due to injury, and Arsenal recalled him to work on his match sharpness with the u21s until summer.

It might feel like a backwards step, but you’re surely better off training with the Arsenal first team on a regular basis and playing for the u21s weekly than training with a loan team and never playing matches.

There’s nothing for it now, Flores can only try to make an impression if and when he’s given another opportunity.

The positive note to end on is that he’s at least still making the squad every game. Any injuries or poor performances ahead of him could still create a chance for a run in the team, he just needs a bit of luck.