Arsenal fans now feel the Gunners will ‘regret’ their decision to sell Marcelo Flores to Tigres UANL after the club reached an agreement for his transfer to the Liga MX team.
The Emirates Stadium side have frustrated parts of their fanbase by cashing in on the highly-rated 19-year-old. Some have tipped Flores to follow in the footsteps of Bukayo Saka and be a key first-team player after graduating out of Arsenal’s famed academy, just like the winger.
Flores joined Arsenal as a youth prospect back in 2019 after two terms developing his trade with Ipswich Town. He moved to England and signed for the Tractor Boys in 2017 after a run with Brampton Fairgrounds in Canada. The attacking midfielder was born in Ontario in 2003.
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Arsenal agree to Marcelo Flores’ transfer to Tigres UANL
Now, though, some Arsenal fans have shared their upset on social media as Fabrizio Romano reports Flores is set to seal a transfer to Tigres. The three-cap Mexico maestro is travelling to the Liga MX side to undergo a medical after finding an agreement for a four-year contract.
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Tigres have also found an agreement with Arsenal on the terms of a permanent transfer for Flores. He will leave north London having never featured in a first-team fixture with the club. Coach Mikel Arteta has only named Flores in one matchday squad but left him on the bench.
Flores was an unused substitute when Arsenal lost 3-0 at Crystal Palace in April 2022 before the midfielder signed for Real Oviedo on loan. He spent the 2022/23 term in Spain’s second tier. But the midfielder only played in 13 fixtures and offered just one assist without scoring.
He had shown great potential in the Gunners’ academy after joining from Ipswich, however. Flores registered 10 goals and five assists in 32 games at the Under-18 level in north London across three seasons. He also offered five goals and one assist from 16 games in their U21s.
Marcelo Flores wanted to become a Gunners legend
Flores made four of his U21 appearances for Arsenal this season but will join Tigres in a last-gasp transfer. It also slams the door shut on his chances, for now, of the midfielder fulfilling his dream of being a Gunners legend and following in the footsteps of his role model, Saka.
“It was like a dream training with the first-team,” Flores told Goal in December 2020 after he first worked with Arsenal’s senior squad. “I couldn’t believe everything that was happening.
“After training, it went well for me, I went out to play as normal. I am delighted, enjoying all the moments that I am living. Right now, I don’t know [when I will get my debut], let’s see how things turn out. I want to play and become a club legend.”
Flores added: “I see Bukayo, he is a very good role model for me. He is the best person to talk to, we text and we talk a lot. He worked very hard to get where he is. He gives me advice and shares his own experiences, so I’m ready for whatever is coming.”
Arsenal fans react as Tigres close in on a late move
So, seeing Arsenal agree to sell Flores to Tigres before the transfer window closes in Mexico on September 13 has upset corners of the Emirates Stadium side’s fanbase reacting online…