Who is Carlos Cuesta? Mikel Arteta's Arsenal lieutenant becomes Serie A head coach at 29! 5 FACTS

 “I am sure that one day Carlos Cuesta will be a manager for a big, big, big club,” former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka once said. 

The Swiss international should have witnessed Cuesta's calibre up close, and his prediction appears to be coming true, as  Cuesta is in Italy to take over as the new head coach of Serie A side Parma. For those unfamiliar, the Spaniard is only 29 years old and arrives from Arsenal, where he served as Mikel Arteta’s right-hand man among the coaching staff. With experience across elite European leagues, Cuesta is regarded as one of the most promising young coaches in football. Last year, The Guardian described him as one of Arteta’s closest confidants, playing a key role in Arsenal’s transformation into genuine title contenders. His primary focus was on the individual development of players, particularly in enhancing their tactical understanding.

 

With experience of having worked across elite European leagues already, he is rated as one of the most promising young coaches. Last year, The Guardian rated Cuesta as one of Arteta’s closest confidantes who played a major role in Arsenal's evolution into a serious title contender under Arteta. The youngster's focus area was the individual development of players and improving tactical understanding.

 

Carlos Cuesta is in Italy to take over as the new head coach of Serie A side Parma. For those unfamiliar, the Spaniard is only 29 years old and arrives from Arsenal, where he served as Mikel Arteta’s right-hand man among the coaching staff. With experience across elite European leagues, Cuesta is regarded as one of the most promising young coaches in football. Last year, The Guardian described him as one of Arteta’s closest confidants, playing a key role in Arsenal’s transformation into genuine title contenders. His primary focus was on the individual development of players, particularly in enhancing their tactical understanding.

 

 

Parma finished the 2024–25 Serie A season in sixteenth place—just one spot above the relegation zone. They recorded seven wins, fifteen draws, and suffered sixteen defeats. Elio Loschi holds the unique distinction of being the youngest Serie A manager in history, having taken charge of Triestina in 1939 at the age of 29 years, 9 months, and 20 days. When Carlos Cuesta’s appointment was announced, he was 29 years, 10 months, and 20 days old—just one month older than Loschi. Nevertheless, Cuesta can take pride in being the youngest Serie A manager of this century.

Here are five things to know about Carlos Cues as he looks to become the next Julian Nagelsmann of European football with Parma:

 

 

1. Carlos Cuesta began his coaching career with Atletico Madrid in 2014 as an 18-year-old. He joined Arsenal from Juventus in 2020, and became the youngest member of the London club's coaching staff to obtain the UEFA A-type coaching certificate four years later. He was heavily linked to a handful of English second-tier teams, including Norwich but managed to land a bigger job ahead of the new season kicks off in Europe. 

 

2. His coaching career began while he was still an academy player at his local club, Santa Catalina Atlético, according to a report by FourFourTwo. Once he realised he was better on the sidelines—assessing, analysing, and adapting—than on the pitch, Cuesta started looking for opportunities and eventually found a place in Atlético Madrid's youth dugout.

 

 

3. Among the  key elements of Mikel Arteta’s lesson plan at Arsenal was Carlos Cuesta’s one-on-one training sessions. According to a report by The Podium, every Arsenal signing since 2020 has had private discussions with Cuesta upon their arrival. During these sit-downs, Cuesta uses video playbacks to analyse and fine-tune aspects of the players' game, helping to correct individual errors.

 

 

 

4. The polyglot, fluent in six languages—English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, and Catalan—was entrusted by Juventus to oversee the development of its Under-17 academy players. However, his decision to join Mikel Arteta’s coaching staff in England proved to be the game-changer. According to Arsenal’s website, Cuesta became one of Arteta’s assistants alongside Steve Round, Albert Stuivenberg, Miguel Molina, and Andreas Georgson. But his role could more specifically be described as that of an "Individual Development Coach" whose work begins  end of a day’s main training session, a report said. 

 

5. By the time Cuesta turned 25, he had already earned a UEFA Pro Licence. His association with Mikel Arteta began during a study visit to Manchester City, ahead of joining Juventus. At the time, Arteta was serving as Pep Guardiola’s assistant, and Cuesta impressed him by sending a detailed analysis of the team’s attacking play. Arteta reportedly remembered the quality of Cuesta’s work and offered him a job when he took over as manager at Arsenal.

 

 

 

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