Vela Confident Mexico Can Overcome Arellano Injury

The Mexican national team lost a member of the Gold Cup squad, but striker Carlos Vela put down the idea that Omar Arellano’s absence would affect the team’s performance.  

Vela viewed the addition of Guillermo Franco as a positive replacement for Omar Arellano.  

“I think that they’re both good players that can bring important things to the team and it’s unfortunate that Omar had to go out," Vela said. "I think the team is solid; the team is good as a whole and I don’t think that one person is going to change much.”

The striker mentioned that both players brought completely different things to El Tri.  

“One if more of a central striker, the other, Omar, can play more on the wings with a little more speed and power. 'Guille' is a little stronger, good in the air, all those things," he said. "I think the manager will know where to put them and how to utilize them in the most adequate moment that’s most convenient for the team.”

Recently, Vela has been more counted on to score, but said that the new pressure wasn’t a worry.  

“No, it’s no pressure, but I think that there’s been things that have gone on our shoulders, things that perhaps don’t belong to us. In mine and Giovani’s case, I think that sometimes people expect much of us, but everything has a process. We have to go step by step. We’ll improve more and more every day and with more games, we’ll feel more confident and we’ll able to do things better.”  

The Mexican team will face Nicaragua on Sunday for their first game in the Gold Cup.  

Andrea Martinez, Goal.com

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