Arsenal 18-year-old makes international debut, Arteta's yet to pick him

Arsenal academy ace Marcelo Flores made his senior international debut for Mexico on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old joined the Arsenal setup from Ipswich in March 2019.

He has been making a name for himself at Hale End and has already featured for the Arsenal Under-23s.

The bulk of Flores’ game time has come for the Arsenal Under-18s and he already looks a cut above.

He has made 30 Gunners U18 appearances to date and registered an impressive 10 goals and five assists.

While Flores may be one of numerous talented Arsenal prospects, he’s very much the talk of Mexican football.

He was recently named Player of the Tournament at the inaugural 2021 Revelations Cup, which Mexico’s U20s won.

And on Wednesday, Flores debuted for El Tri’s senior squad in a friendly against Chile in Austin, Texas.

As the match took part on a non-FIFA date, both sides featured line-ups with plenty of young faces and alternates.

Flores came on in the 83rd minute of the match, which finished 2-2.

Speaking ahead of the game, Mexico coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino praised the Arsenal gem.

“Marcelo Flores awakens the hopes that all spectators have,” ESPN quotes him as saying.

“He’s a different player who always asks for the ball.”

After the game, Tata sought to temper expectations on such a young player.

“I understand the expectations that can create but I ask for prudence with the demands of an 18-year-old,” he said.

Surely it won’t be long before Flores steps up to the Arsenal U23s for good.

And given how highly rated he is, Arsenal and Mexico fans alike will surely be keeping tabs on his progress.

Arsenal 18-year-old makes international debut, Mikel Arteta’s yet to pick him