Arsenal wonderkid seals permanent transfer to SURPRISE team
Tom Weber
- Updated: 8 Sept 2023 09:39 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal youngster Marcelo Flores is set to seal a permanent switch to Tigres, according to reports.
The 19-year-old attacking midfielder first made headlines in 2021 when he starred for Mexico's U18s in the inaugural edition of the Revelations Cup, but the interest has somewhat died down since.
He made the bench for the Gunners in the Premier League away at Crystal Palace - a humbling 3-0 defeat - in April 2022 but didn't get on the pitch. Flores has mostly featured for the U21s and spent last season on loan at Spanish second-division side Real Oviedo, where he only managed to contribute one assist.
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Flores is eligible to represent Canada, England and Mexico at the international level, but it is the latter the 19-year-old has chosen to play for. Therefore, it is not a huge surprise to see him heading to Liga MX, but it is not a path well-trodden in terms of transfer flows involving the Gunners.
A rare transfer
In fact, moves between the red half of north London and Mexico are very rare indeed, the most prominent example, of course, still being Carlos Vela, who moved to Arsenal from Chivas as a youngster but failed to live up to the hype in England. He has since gone on to have a very accomplished career with Real Sociedad and Los Angeles FC.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Flores is heading to Monterrey giants Tigres, where he will link up with striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, who is still going strong at 37 years of age. The Frenchman caused astonishment when he headed to Tigres back in 2015, but you can't argue with 194 goals and 48 assists in 347 games.
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Romano has reported that the deal is 'here we go' done with Flores on his way to Mexico to complete his medical and sign all the requisite paperwork on a four-year deal.
