‘Excellent’ 18-year-old prodigy publicly tells Arteta he wants his Arsenal debut before October this year

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Arsenal have a bunch of exciting young talents coming through the ranks and Marcelo Flores is one that every fan should keep an eye on.

The 18-year-old Mexican joined the Gunners’ youth academy from Ipswich Town in March 2019. He made his debut for Arsenal’s under-18s in October that year and has gone from strength to strength since.

Flores has now established himself as a regular in Arsenal’s under-23s side. He has been absolutely brilliant recently and his performances earned him a call-up to the Mexican national team as well.

The youngster certainly has a bright future ahead of him and he has now claimed that he wants to make his Arsenal debut before he turns 19, which is on the 1st of October this year.

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Marcelo Flores: I want my Arsenal debut before I turn 19

Flores was named among the 50 best young players in world football by Goal’s NXGN recently. He sat down for an interview with them this week and claimed that his goal is to break into the senior side before he turns 19 later this year.

He said: “I would like to make my Premier League debut before I turn 19. That’s my goal.

“And I’d like to get my proper international debut for Mexico and hopefully be involved in the Qatar World Cup.

“I idolise players like [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and Neymar, who have all done the same thing.

“Looking up to players like them, you want to match what they did because like any player, my ultimate dream is to win things like the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or.”

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Flores may just be a bit too young to make his mark in Arsenal’s first team but after what Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have done in recent years, it really won’t be a surprise to see another one come up from the youth setup and have an impact.

The 18-year-old Mexican is a fabulous player. Branded as ‘excellent’ by the club’s under-23s boss Kevin Betsy, Flores has scored 10 goals and has provided three assists in just 17 starts for the youth sides this season.

He can play on both wings and as an attacking midfielder, which makes him a fantastic option for any manager to have.

Mikel Arteta is set to have a closer look at Flores in pre-season this summer and if he catches the Arsenal boss’ eye, there’s a good chance he could make his senior debut before his 19th birthday in October this year.

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