After finishing runners-up in the Premier League and securing qualification for the new UEFA Champions League season, Arsenal have started to focus their efforts on signings that can strengthen the squad with a long-term view to rivaling Liverpool for the title in 2025/26. However, while everyone is resting on their well-deserved vacations, the Gunners will suffer a huge impact on their coaching staff.
After five years helping Arsenal grow in recent seasons, assistant Carlos Cuesta has decided that he will leave the Premier League to start his career as head coach at Parma. The latest reports indicate that Cuesta had been negotiating for several weeks before reaching an agreement with the Italian side.
With the imminent conclusion of the deal, we can say that Carlos Cueta will replace Cristian Chivu as Parma coach after the 44-year-old replaced Simone Inzaghi at Inter Milan earlier this month, who decided to accept Al-Hilal's offer after suffering humiliation against PSG in the UEFA Champions League decider.
Understanding the importance of Carlos Cuesta at Arsenal
Carlos Cuesta rose to prominence in soccer after gaining experience as a youth coach at Atlético Madrid and Juventus. His development work with youngsters by creating new solutions for tactical positions before they reach the professional teams sparked interest from Arsenal in the summer of 2020.
It's worth noting that this is a very intense and bold move by Parma, who finished last Serie A season five points above the relegation zone. Cuesta has been interested in a career as a professional coach and so it makes total sense that he has accepted Parma's offer, starting in one of the biggest leagues in the world. However, Arsenal certainly didn't imagine that they would lose their 29-year-old assistant so suddenly, causing huge concern ahead of the start of pre-season in the coming months.