Man Utd Legend ‘to Join’ Arsenal Staff to Replace Mikel Arteta’s Assistant | OneFootball

Arsenal are hiring former Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze to Mikel Arteta’s coaching staff following the departure of Carlos Cuesta to Parma, it has emerged.

Cuesta joined Arteta in north London after the Spaniard took the job in late 2020 and remained a part of his team up until the end of the 2024–25 season. However, the talented young coach has since moved on, with Serie A club Parma appointing the 29-year-old as their new manager after Cristian Chivu succeeded Simone Inzaghi at Inter.

Arsenal have thus been searching for a replacement, and they’ve stumbled upon a former trusted lieutenant of Sir Alex Ferguson’s at Old Trafford. According to The Athletic, Heinze is set to join Arteta’s coaching team having taken on several head coaching roles since hanging up his boots in 2014.

The former Argentinian international has had five different managerial jobs, the bulk of which have come in his homeland. Heinze’s been out of work since November 2023 after spending just a year in charge of Newell’s Old Boys.

Heinze spent three years at Man Utd. / IMAGO/Buzzi

Arsenal’s appointment of the 47-year-old isn’t exactly random, given that Arteta shared a dressing room with Heinze at Paris Saint-Germain during the 2001–02 season. The Arsenal manager later described the Argentine as one of his major “inspirations” in the French capital, with the pair developing a strong relationship.

Heinze spent three seasons in the Premier League with United as a player, winning the title in 2006–07. He arrives at the Emirates at a critical juncture, with Arsenal entering the new season off the back of three consecutive second-place finishes.

While his exact role under Arteta hasn’t yet been ironed out, Heinze is joining an esteemed coaching team that also includes the Spaniard’s right-hand man, Albert Stuivenberg, set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, and goalkeeper coach Iñaki Caña.

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