“Doesn’t understand anything tactically” – Arsenal youngster criticised by national team sources

Even though Marcelo Flores hasn’t even made his debut for Arsenal’s first team yet, his name continues to be a constant topic in the Mexican media.

Playing for the country’s youth ranks, the midfielder scored good goals against Brazil and the US in the Revelations Cup in the last international break, and that makes many people wonder what will be of his future at the national team.

Flores has been playing for Mexico for now, but could end up representing Canada or England at senior level, so there’s some anxiety regarding his future decision.

That’s why it’s already been claimed that the 18-year-old could represent Mexico at the World Cup next year. And as the local media went after this story, they ended up learning that the chances are very low.

ESPN Mexico features a piece for which they spoke to sources from the national team. They learned that Flores has a lot to improve, including his physique, so it’s still a unlikely that he’d go through that process in only one year.

“In the youth (national teams) they do not want to push him because they say he’s very individualistic, and now it turns out that he’s a ‘phenomenon’,” a source told ESPN.

“You can talk to them and they will tell you that he is very individualistic. Still the boy does not understand anything tactically and now it turns out that they are suggesting for the first team… Do not scrub!

“Can you imagine the first kick they hit him in the World Cup? He’s going to end up on the fence.”

As Flores already trained under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, he continues to wait for his debut with the Gunners, which should happen before he gets to choose a national team to play for.