The Spanish-born 29-year-old, who spent two years as assistant coach of Juve’s U17 team joined Arsenal as assistant manager to Mikel Arteta.
He has left the Premier League side to take over as Parma manager, signing a two-year deal. Cuesta has replaced Cristian Chivu, who left the club to take charge of Inter Milan.
Chivu impressed last term, steering Parma to safety from tumbling into Serie B that was helped by the shock 1-0 success over Juventus. That was Igor Tudor’s only defeat during his nine-game Serie A spell as interim boss.
Serie A merry-go-round
Previous Inter manager Simone Inzaghi, a target for Juventus when the then sporting director Cristian Giuntoli was at the Turin club, joined cash-rich Saudi Pro League Al-Hilal who are currently competing in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
As fate would have it, Cuesta’s first game of the Serie A season will be at Juventus on 24 August. He will be aged just 30 years and 26 days when Parma tackle the Bianconeri at Turin’s Allianz Stadium.
From Juve youth to Arsenal
Cuesta kicked off his career as Atletico Madrid youth team coach before moving to the Turin titans. His development work with youngsters, creating new solutions for tactical positions, attracted the attention of top teams with Arsenal the first to make an offer.
His switch from England to return to Italy will impact Arsenal's pre-season preparations. Cuesta was reportedly in negotiations with Parma for a couple of weeks before reaching an agreement, with 44-year-old Chivu wanted by a clutch of leading Italian teams.
This seems to be a brave and bold move by Parma, who only avoided the drop by finishing five points above the relegation zone.