Written by
Simon Austin
June 19, 2025
Arsenal Assistant Carlos Cuesta has been named as the new Manager of Parma in Italy’s Serie A, making him the youngest boss in Europe’s top five leagues.
The 29-year-old has worked for Arsenal for almost five years, having originally forged a relationship with Manager Mikel Arteta during a study visit to Manchester City (where Arteta was Assistant at the time) in 2018.
The Spaniard, who speaks six languages and holds the UEFA Pro Licence, has also worked for Atletico Madrid and Juventus during his career, despite his tender years. His appointment makes him the youngest Manager in the top five years by some margin, ahead of Fabian Hürzeler at Brighton, who is 32.
At Arsenal, Cuesta focused on individual development, but became a more and more prominent and trusted member of Arteta’s staff as time went on.
He replaces Cristian Chivu at Parma. The Romanian took charge of the club for the final four months of last season after replacing the sacked Fabio Pecchioand and kept them in Serie A. Now Chivu has been appointed Manager of Inter Milan.
Cuesta starts work at Parma on July 1st and has signed a contract to the end of June 2027, with the option of a further year.
As an individual development specialist, Cuesta worked one-on-one with all members of Arsenal’s first-team squad and was able to communicate with most in their mother tongue, because he speaks English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French and Catalan.
His work usually took place at the end of a day’s main training session, with a focus on technical skills and tactical principles. Each session was filmed and Cuesta also did a lot of video analysis with each player.
There was a holistic approach, taking into account the physical, mental, technical and tactical capabilities and requirements of each player.
Career journey
Cuesta was born in Parma, Majorca, in July 1995 and started his coaching badges at the age of 18. At the same time, he joined Atletico Madrid’s Academy as a coach.
He went on to become their Under-13s lead and also spent time studying at Porto University under the legendary Vitor Frade. In August 2018, when he was still only 22, Cuesta joined Juventus, having met one of the Turin club’s coaches at the La Liga Promises tournament.
The coach invited Cuesta to Turin and he impressed the club’s directors so much that they offered him a permanent job. During his two seasons at Juve, Cuesta was predominantly U17s Assistant, but also worked with the U23s, who were coached at the time by Pecchio, who was Parma Manager until February.
Shortly before joining Juve, Cuesta had conducted a study visit to Manchester City, which is where he got to know Arteta. The young coach had secured the invitation by sending Arteta an in-depth analysis of City’s attacking play.
In a subsequent interview with El Pais newspaper, Cuesta said that working with Arteta, who was Assistant to City manager Pep Guardiola at the time, had been a particular highlight of his trip.
“He will be a great coach,” he said. “He was able to verify the importance of details in elite training sessions and game analysis.”
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