Vela's signing was confirmed back in November, the only question being which European club he'd end up being loaned to. Although the destination country was said to be undecided back then, Spain always seemed the most likely because of FIFA rules about the international transfer of youngsters.

Valencia was rumoured, but seemed a surprisingly big club to be involved with such a temporary deal. Celta aren't far off being a similar surprise. Celta lost 2-1 to Real Madrid at the weekend but are still 8th in the league. Let's hope Carlos doesn't like it there too much. Reuters describe him as a striker, although previous reports have said attacking midfielder. Basically he's a bit young to start pinning down, especially if he's going to end up under Arsene Wenger.

Rupe adds...
As far as I understand it, stories on the Marca website suggest that Vela's move to Celta may be more than just the season loan. Celta director Sabino Lopez is quoted as saying, "Vela ... has signed a contract with our club for five years, which is the maximum allowed under FIFA regulations."

He goes on to say, "There was an agreement with Arsenal for the player as a result of the collaboration deal between our two clubs. Both clubs are looking to attract new talent from around the world and both clubs regard Vela as a tremendously interesting player."

But it's far from clear what the nature of that agreement is. If he's under a 5 year contract with Celta then perhaps it's just a matter of Arsenal having first option if they decide to move him on....

Rupe adds...
A very helpful chap called Thibaud follows up with this analysis of the Marca article..

"As far as I understand it and according to the Managing Director, Sabino López, Vela has signed a 5 year contract with Celta. But when pressed by journalists at his unveiling about the involvement of Arsenal, and the commonly held belief that the player will automatically become an Arsenal player in June 2008, he clearly states that the boy has signed a 5-year contract with Celta and that in addition, Celta paid his transfer fee. He goes on however to say rather cryptically that it is true that Arsenal have an option on the boys in said contract as part of the agreement between the two clubs. Then he goes on to praise both clubs endeavour in unearthing young talent worldwide but if you read between the line, I think that the agreement/announcement is double-meaning tactic to stay below Fifa's radar regarding tough rule on young player transfers, particularly from a 'poorer' country such as Mexico, as well as placate notoriously difficult Celta's fans. Basically, if the boy fulfills his promise, we are likely to have him in 2008 to follow FA's rule but should he not, Celta will probably either keep him or sell him on at no cost to ourselves. It would pay to follow that one though and it is telling that there is no mention of it on the official Arsenal website." So, it would seem that the move to Spain does bring the lad a step closer to being an Arsenal player. But as has always been clear, we shouldn't count our chickens.