Carlos Cuesta's move echoes ambition of Mikel Arteta, but what next for Arsenal?

New York Times

5 hours ago

Carlos Cuesta's departure from Arsenal will be an irritant and an inconvenience, but should be nothing more than that. In a perfect world, these things happen when planned and agreed, with smooth transitions and fond farewells, but football doesn't often work like that.
Would Mikel Arteta have preferred not to suddenly lose a trusted member of his coaching team not long before the squad reconvenes for the new season? Certainly. But this is not a cataclysmic disaster to send shockwaves through Arsenal. Cuesta, who is set to take up the reigns at Parma, is a gifted and popular member of staff — evidently talented enough to be offered a Serie A job while still in his twenties. The way of football, though, is to move on, move quickly, and get to work.
A post shared by Carlos Cuesta (@carl0scuesta)
Arteta has had a close-knit staff for the past few years, and that loyalty and togetherness, the blend of personalities and qualities that make up his inner circle, is a tremendous benefit. Arteta may want a speedy replacement but, more importantly than that, he will want the right replacement.
The fact Cuesta, 29, is ambitious is no bad thing in the coaches' room at a club like Arsenal. It may be that replicating his energy and ideas, bringing the ability to be a great sounding board for himself and the playing staff is paramount. But if Arteta is not convinced that introducing a new cog to the machine is optimal, he could bide his time and rely on the remaining group.
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Arteta is used to working with a coaching core of three assistant managers, so it is not as if he is left terribly in the lurch. Albert Stuivenberg — the right-hand man with the AirPods — has been with him from the start. Miguel Molina, like Cuesta a young coach, 32, who is closer in age to the players and can bring a different kind of connection, remain in situ. So it takes the pressure off rushing an appointment to replace Cuesta.
Arsenal were not in a hurry to appoint a new technical director when Edu abruptly left his role midway through last season. The process to settle on Andrea Berta took a few months.
There are two fundamental characteristics needed if Arsenal do decide to recruit or promote to fill Cuesta's role — an elevated level of competency and an extreme level of trust. The latter is clearly harder to generate in an instant, and may need more time to grow.
Cuesta is the first member of the coaching team to depart the inner circle against Arteta's wishes.
Stuivenberg has also been considered as a managerial prospect by other clubs, but has so far resisted the temptation to leave to become a No 1 elsewhere.
Arsenal's squad will begin to return before the end of the month and those who were not on international duty will, together with their families, go to Spain for a crossover of a holiday and pre-pre-season with light sessions to begin the process of tuning up while also enjoying some quality time. Cuesta was expected to be in that party.
No doubt Arsenal will watch Cuesta's progress with interest. It echoes the leap Arteta himself left as a young coach when he left Pep Guardiola and Manchester City to take the Arsenal job in mid-season during 2019, backing himself to become a main man and take the big decisions for himself.
It also echoes the fast-track development Cesc Fabregas has made since taking on Como for his first management job in the Italian league.
Adios Carlos. Time now for him and Arsenal to move on.