He never lived up to Wenger's 'world class' Arsenal prediction, now he's his new club's top scorer of all time
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During his 1,235 game reign at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger saw a lot of players come and go at both Highbury and the Emirates.
Along with the brilliant players Wenger welcomed to Arsenal, the Frenchman was also just as famous for those who he 'nearly' signed.
Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are on that list, which kind of says it all.
That being said, Carlos Vela was one of the many young stars who Wenger saw a lot of potential in once he arrived at Arsenal.
The Gunners picked up Vela from Mexican side Guadalajara in 2006, a striker who went on to play for the club 62 times, scoring 11 goals.
What happened to Carlos Vela at Arsenal?
Vela joined the club as a 16-year-old, one who Wenger had so much faith in.
Two years after welcoming the Mexican to north London, Wenger made a bold prediction about Vela's potential shortly after he scored a hat-trick against Sheffield United in the Carling Cup – as it was called at the time.
Speaking in 2008, Wenger spoke glowingly about the young striker, who he thought could go on to be 'world class' if he just added one or two things to his game.
He said: "He is naturally gifted, quick, intelligent and with very good technique, so you now want him to add that combative, determined side that makes the difference.
"He’ll quickly be a world-class striker when he adds that to his game. Some day we all get our chance – the target is to take that chance when you get it, and he has the potential to do that."
Unfortunately, after he then endured a fairly unsuccessful loan at West Bromwich Albion – an experience Serge Gnabry had too, Vela went on to leave the club permanently in 2012.
The striker enjoyed a better experience on loan at Real Sociedad, who he then went on to make 250 appearances for.
Carlos Vela became Los Angeles FC’s all-time top goalscorer after he left Arsenal
Although Vela was very successful at Real Sociedad, he undoubtedly enjoyed the biggest success of his career when he swapped Spain for the United States.
Vela became Los Angeles FC's flagship player in 2018, a club he has now scored 93 goals for at the time of writing, doing so in 189 games.
The former Arsenal forward has won countless awards with the club and is the most iconic player in their history – something he didn't quite manage to do in north London.
Interestingly, Olivier Giroud now plays alongside Vela at the club, with the 38-year-old Frenchman having a comparative record of two goals in 19 appearances.
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Why did Carlos Vela stop playing for Mexico?
Another standout moment of Vela's career was when the forward decided to stop playing for Mexico in 2010.
Vela was initially suspended for six months after an allegation that he and Mexico teammate Efrain Juarez held a party at the team hotel.
Once he had served that suspension, Vela refused to play in the 2011 Gold Cup and also made himself unavailable for the 2012 Olympics, which Mexico actually went on to win.
Vela returned to playing for his country in 2015 and has now amassed 72 caps and scored 19 goals for his country.
