Who is Marcelo Flores, the new talent of the Mexican soccer team?

Premier League side Arsenal conquered the hearts of Mexican fans years ago when Carlos Vela wore the Gunners' jersey. Now, the team could awaken the passion of the Mexicans once again with the presence of Marcelo Flores with the London squad.

Flores, who moved up from Arsenal's Under-18s to the Under-23s this year, is one of the players attracting the attention of the club's academy. His intelligence in controlling the ball has caught the eyes of the coaches and he was already training with the first team, coached by Mikel Arteta.

Player's beginnings in soccer

Flores was born in Canada to a Canadian mother of English descent, and a Mexican former footballer, Rubén Flores. He was raised in Georgetown, Ontario. As his father was the manager of the Cayman Islands women's national football team, Flores spent some time on the islands, where he was invited to a training camp by Ipswich Town youth development coach Steve Foley. He impressed during the week-long camp, and joined the Ipswich Town academy.

In 2019, Flores joined the Arsenal academy on a free transfer. He made a bright start to the 2020–21 campaign with Arsenal's under-18s, scoring three goals in two games. After training with the first team, he signed his first professional contract in October 2020. Shortly after, he was included in The Guardian's "Next Generation 2020", highlighting the best young players in the world. 

2021 Revelations Cup

Marcelo Flores was the star of the show as Mexico Under-20s won the inaugural 2021 Revelations Cup after securing two victories from their three games in November.

Flores was on target twice for the hosts, in victories against Brazil and the United States, with both his performances and acrobatic summersault goal celebrations - which he taught himself on a trampoline at home - capturing the imagination of those watching across the country.

He was named Player of the Tournament, and the Gunners starlet has barely been out of the headlines since, with some even calling for him to be immediately promoted to El Tri's senior squad.

Marcelo´s Father, Rubén Flores talked to GOAL and said that “The press and the TV have been giving him a lot of attention,” and added, “But I don’t know why they are all so excited about it”.

“Marcelo has had lots of good experiences with the U20s. He’s gone to lots of camps in places like Denmark and Spain, and he’s always done well, so this isn’t really anything different. Maybe it’s because of the game against Brazil when he played well and he scored. But Marcelo won’t let this get to him. He just wants to play football. He loves it.”

Canada´s and England´s player interest

The young Arsenal attacker could also represent Canada, the country of his birth, as well as England, having been granted a British passport earlier this year.

So he is currently keeping his options open, with his father adamant that there is no need to rush into any sort of decision at such an early age.

“It’s not the time to choose,” Ruben insists. “He’s too young. He got an invite to Canada last year, but there was Covid and he was already going to Mexico, so the time wasn’t right”. 

“He also did an U16s camp with England, but we didn’t have the passport then. Our paperwork to become British just came this year. So right now the decision isn’t difficult, he just loves football and that’s all that matters. He is going to the camps that he was invited to by Mexico and he is enjoying himself. For anything else, he is too young.”

Marcelo Flores First Call-up to Mexico Senior Soccer Team

After Marcelo´s big performances in the Arsenal U18s squad and the 2021 Revelations Cup, he earned the right to prove himself in front of Gerardo Martino, Mexican Soccer Team manager. The match will be played today, Wednesday, December 8th in Austin, Texas. The young player has the opportunity to fill the eyes of the coaches but most importantly of the Mexican fans who are excited to know him wearing the National jersey.