Carlos Cuesta has flown the nest at Arsenal, just as Mikel Arteta did to Pep Guardiola.
Cuesta has left his post as the Gunners’ assistant manager to fulfil personal ambitions of becoming a head coach. Having signed his contract in Italy on Wednesday, he is now manager of Parma at the age of just 29 — the second-youngest head coach in Serie A history. Fair play.
For Arsenal, though not disastrous, this is clearly a hitch: a problem to be solved ahead of a season which will prove significant in determining whether Arteta is to ultimately go down as a nearly-man or, instead, the title winner he so desperately wants to be.
It was only in April that Standard Sport revealed Cuesta, along with other members of the backroom staff, had signed new contracts with the club, valid until 2027. Two months later, the Gunners have lost one half of their assistant managerial team, with only Albert Stuivenberg still in post.
Cuesta’s social media post to announce his departure after five years featured mention of the “unity” he felt between Arsenal’s coaching staff — “special people”.
If he has somewhat tested that resolve by leaving, the challenge now is for the club to replace Cuesta with a successor who can slot seamlessly into the role and continue supporting Arteta and the players in the way Stuivenberg, set-piece coach Nicolas Jover and other staff members have so diligently done.
More important than Cuesta’s replacement arriving at the club as quickly as possible is that the new recruit is ultimately the right fit for Arteta and for the club’s direction.
The good work that has been done at London Colney to return Arsenal to the top of English football since Arteta left assistant management to become a head coach, himself, in 2019 must not be risked being undone by hiring an unnatural fit.
When Arsenal replaced sporting director Edu following his departure mid-season, they waited months before appointing his replacement. But when Andrea Berta, previously of Atletico Madrid, did finally arrive, he got straight to work.
The same can be expected of the new assistant manager, who — if their brief remains in line with Cuesta’s — will be responsible for analysing matches alongside Arteta, and leading meetings with the coaching staff, squad and individual players with a focus on tactics.
As has been pointed out by others, Cuesta’s decision to leave Arsenal to pursue his big break as a head coach marks the first time that a member of Arteta’s inner circle have left by their own volition rather than through Arteta’s choice.
It is up to the club, to Arteta, and to the remaining backroom staff, to ensure not only that the repercussions of his exit are minimal but also that his replacement aids the project rather than hinders it.
