Carlos Cuesta – the secret weapon of Mikel Arteta in Arsenal

After recently defeating Manchester United in a thrilling match at the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners now lead the Premier League by five points. It was the kind of outcome that turns upbeat excitement into excessive expectation.

Even if Arteta is the one receiving the majority of the praise, the former assistant manager of Manchester City would be the first to say he is not doing everything by himself. In fact, one of Arteta's most powerful lieutenants is younger than a large portion of the pool of available talent right now. He is Carlos Cuesta.

About Carlos Cuesta

Carlos Cuesta, 27 years old, is Arsenal's individual development coach. When he was only 24 years old, he went to Manchester City and first encountered Arteta. Although it may have been predetermined that his coaching career would eventually bring him back to Arteta, Cuesta's path began many years earlier.

Carlos Cuesta is a young talent coach

Cuesta, who began his coaching badges at the age of 18, already has a UEFA professional license.As a result of his time spent at Atletico Madrid and Juventus, Cuesta is, unsurprisingly, well regarded throughout Europe.

His idol is Jose Mourinho. He even attended a lecture by Vitor Frade, the professor who influenced the former Chelsea and Tottenham manager, on the subject of tactical periodization at Porto University. Tactical periodization encourages players to concentrate on the systems of play that a team intends to deploy, which is the direction that he wants to follow in his coaching career.

Carlos Cuesta’s role for Arsenal

Following the Gunners' FA Cup victory in 2020, Arteta had the chance to reorganize his staff, and he already had the ideal candidate in mind, and that is Cuesta. Cuesta has since grown to be one of Arteta's most important assistants.

Arsenal's individual development coach is in charge of making sure every player is either progressing or performing at a high level. His proficiency in six other languages—English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, and Catalan—allows him to communicate effectively with everyone at the club. He routinely works one-on-one with Arsenal's star-studded team.

With the Arsenal team, Cuesta spends a lot of time performing video analysis, focusing on numerous sequences that highlight match actions and body language, as described in the Amazon documentary "Arsenal: All or Nothing" from the previous year. Given his background in Portuguese football, it comes as no surprise that his emphasis is on tactical innovation and technical prowess rather than physical conditioning.

Carlos Cuesta is an important assistant of Arteta

Despite his young age, the Arsenal team still respects him and his contribution to the club. In a documentary, Arsenal full-back Nuno Tavares said:

"Carlos can understand the players because he is also young. He helps me get better and better."

Cuesta's influence can be seen in several of the improved performances this season, notably Granit Xhaka's remarkable improvement and many others.

For Cuesta, meeting Arteta and Guardiola was an experience that changed his life.

"I highlight Mikel Arteta. He is going to be a great coach."

Cuesta had no idea back then, though, that he would go on to play a significant role in the group supporting Arteta as the Gunners pursue their first domestic championship in nearly two decades.