Latest news with #Cuesta
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mikel Arteta poised to lose key Arsenal assistant Carlos Cuesta to Parma
Mikel Arteta is poised to lose one of his key lieutenants at Arsenal, with his 29-year-old assistant Carlos Cuesta expected to join Parma to take a first head coach's role. The Spaniard, regarded as one of the world's best young coaches, flew to Italy on Wednesday to finalise his appointment. Cuesta is in line to replace Cristian Chivu, who left for Inter to take over from Simone Inzaghi, and would become the second-youngest head coach in Serie A history. Advertisement Related: Premier League opening fixtures: Liverpool host Bournemouth, Arsenal at Manchester United Cuesta joined Arsenal from Juventus in 2020 after starting his coaching career at Atlético Madrid in 2014 as an 18-year-old and has become one of Arteta's closest confidantes, with a heavy focus on improving tactical understanding among individual players. Cuesta was heavily linked with Norwich last season and is understood to have attracted widespread interest from other clubs in the Championship and beyond. He is believed to have been tempted by the challenge of being the youngest manager in Europe's top five leagues and trying to return Parma to the top half of Serie A, the club having finished 16th last season after being promoted. Arteta said last year that he would not stand in Cuesta's way should his assistant want to leave, although Cuesta was one of five members of Arsenal's coaching staff who signed extensions until 2027 in April. His fellow assistant Albert Stuivenberg and the first-team coach Miguel Molina were among the others. 'If that's the will?' Arteta said of forcing someone to stay. 'You cannot do that. I wouldn't, no. With the staff as well, everybody needs to feel there is a path, there is a development plan for everyone. People don't want to do the same thing for three, four, five years. It is a way to incentivise and inspire other people and then to explore because you don't really know the limit of a person unless you expose him to certain things.' Advertisement Arsenal are preparing to make their move for a striker having held talks with representatives of Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyökeres and their respective clubs, RB Leipzig and Sporting. It is understood that Leipzig value Sesko at between €80m (£68.4m) and €100m and are open to allowing him to leave if they can agree a deal, but Arsenal have yet to make a formal offer for the Slovenia striker. Gyökeres has expressed a preference to play in the Champions League for Arsenal rather than join Manchester United. The Sweden striker is thought to have been angered by Sporting's insistence that his £85m release clause be met after talks with Arsenal's sporting director, Andrea Berta. Berta also held talks with representatives of the Spain forward Nico Williams in one of his first acts after he was appointed at the end of March. Arsenal are believed to have accepted defeat in pursuit of Williams, who is thought to favour a move to Barcelona.
Metro
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Metro
Mikel Arteta to lose key staff member in fresh Arsenal setback
Mikel Arteta is set to lose one of his key Arsenal allies with assistant head coach Carlos Cuesta set to join Parma. The 29-year-old joined the Gunners five years ago having gained experience with Atletico Madrid and Juventus. Cuesta was heavily linked with a move to Norwich last year but was persuaded to remain with the north London club. The opportunity to take a head coach role for a Serie A club has, however, proved too good an opportunity to resist and a formal announcement will be made in the coming days, according to Fabrizio Romano. Cuesta's exit represents a fresh blow for Arteta who will now, in conjunction with sporting director Andrea Berta, need to hire a replacement or promote from within. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. Despite his relative lack of experience, Cuesta was a popular and highly regarded member of staff who had taken on increased responsibility over the course of the last 12 months. The Spaniard featured prominently working one-on-one with senior first team players in the Amazon documentary 'All Or Nothing' which charted Arsenal's 2022/23 Premier League campaign. To those who have worked with Cuesta, it will come as no shock to see him emerging from Arteta's shadow to take a senior role at a leading club. Speaking to The Athletic last year, Granit Xhaka, who had moved to Bayer Leverkusen by that stage, gave an insight into how and why such a young coach was able to make the impression he did at Arsenal. 'Of course, you are always surprised when someone of that young age comes to a big club like Arsenal,' Xhaka said. 'My feeling from the first meeting with him was that first of all, as a person, he is very honest, very straight, but he also had great knowledge about football. 'He knows what he's doing, he knows how to speak with the players, what the players need. It was just amazing from the beginning.' 'How Carlos improved — day by day, month by month, year on year — was unbelievable. The individual meetings that we had with him were always on point, very clear to understand, and I was very grateful to learn many many new things 'The relationship between Carlos and me was very special. I think how we were thinking as people was exactly the same. The honesty we showed each other, and other people, was always the same. 'He helped me a lot. We had so many individual meetings, video sessions, and conversations. To be honest, these things helped bring me where I am today.' Cuesta's ambition for a head coach role has been no secret but the timing of his departure could prove problematic given Arsenal have several fires to put out in the coming weeks, before the start of pre-season. It was hoped that Gabriel Magalhaes' decision to sign a new long-term contract would spark a wave of similar renewals, but the likes of Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are yet to follow suit. Jorginho's departure, meanwhile, is likely to be offset by the imminent arrival of Martin Zubimendi from Real Socieded but the uncertainty surrounding Thomas Partey's future means Arsenal are likely to require another central midfielder. More Trending Zubimendi aside, Arsenal appear to have made little progress in terms of their anticipated recruitment drive. A new winger was seen as a must, but Nico Williams, a long-term target, is now on the cusp of signing for Barcelona, while a deal for Real Madrid's Rodrygo appears fanciful at this stage. Given last season's title bid unfolded following injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, a new striker looked to be the No.1 priority but Arsenal appear to be caught in a quandary. With Alexander Isak viewed as unobtainable, the choice now boils down to either Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko butit remains unclear which centre forward they are primarily targeting. MORE: Xabi Alonso sends message to Arsenal over £67m Rodrygo transfer MORE: Arsenal respond to latest Benjamin Sesko demands after 'freezing' Gyokeres move MORE: Liverpool make approach for Chelsea and Man Utd target to follow Florian Wirtz
Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Mikel Arteta dealt blow as trusted Arsenal ally poached for top job in Serie A
Mikel Arteta could see his Arsenal assistant Carlos Cuesta leave for pastures new with Parma ready to offer him their top job as the young coach prepares to step out on his own Italian giants Parma have lined up Arsenal No 2 Carlos Cuesta as their next boss. That would be a big blow to Mikel Arteta to lose his 29-year-old assistant ahead of next season. Parma have asked for formal permission to enter negotiations to complete a move for the highly-rated coach, but Arsenal have yet to respond to the latest developments. The Serie A side sacked head coach Fabio Pecchia back in February, replacing him with Christian Chivu. The Romanian has now left to take up the job at Inter Milan and that has left the club with another vacancy to fill. Cuesta is not yet 30 but has forged an impressive reputation and joined Arteta's coaching staff just months after he was appointed. The Spaniard's possible departure would be a blow to Arsenal's preparations for the new season given how long Cuesta has been by Arteta's side. The Gunners boss has placed huge trust in his lieutenants. This isn't the first time Cuesta has been sounded out for a job and back in 2024 he was heavily linked with a move to Norwich and Arteta confessed that he would not stand in a coach's way if they sought to step out on their own and pursue an opportunity. READ MORE: Arsenal learn Morgan Rogers transfer update as Aston Villa face up to PSR reality He said at the time: "If that's the will? You cannot do that. I wouldn't, no. With the staff as well, everybody need to feel there is a path, there is a development plan for everyone. People don't want to do the same thing for three, four, five years. It is a way to incentivise and inspire other people and then to explore because you don't really know the limit of a person unless you expose him to certain things. "I think curiosity is a really important quality that we have within our young staff and that drives the rest. We all need opportunities. I got the opportunity when I didn't have any experience in coaching, first at Man City and here. I'm very grateful for that. "It is my responsibility to give, when you see talent, when you see that level of passion and enthusiasm to give them the chance as well to show what they can deliver." Arteta himself made the decision to step away from being Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City to become the Arsenal manager back in 2019. He, like Cuesta, had never been in the top job before but his time as a No 2 served him well as he's gone on to cut it in the main job.
