Midfielder Granit Xhaka enjoyed an incredible revival under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal before departing for Bayer Leverkusen last year.
Xhaka was struggling for form and confidence just before Arteta arrived, and he was heading towards the exit door before the Spaniard convinced him to stay at the club.
He found his ideal midfield role at Arsenal under Arteta, and thrived in an advanced role in his final season before joining Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen.
Xhaka was a key figure as his side completed an undefeated cup double and reached the Europa League final, and despite leaving, he has talked glowingly about Arsenal since he exited a year ago.
The Switzerland captain has now praised one of Arteta’s key staff members, who was instrumental in Xhaka’s revitalisation at the club under his coaching team.
Granit Xhaka praises Arsenal coach Carlos Cuesta
Speaking to The Athletic, Xhaka heaped praise on Arsenal coaching gem Carlos Cuesta, who is quickly earning admirers within the football world, and admitted that he was shocked that someone so young would be coaching senior players at the top end of the Premier League.
“Of course, you are always surprised when someone of that young age comes to a big club like Arsenal,” Xhaka stated.
“My feeling from the first meeting with him was that first of all, as a person, he is very honest, very straight, but he also had great knowledge about football.
“He knows what he’s doing, he knows how to speak with the players, what the players need. It was just amazing from the beginning.”
Granit Xhaka’s performances improved thanks to Carlos Cuesta’s close attention to detail
Cuesta joined the club in the summer of 2020 as a 25-year-old, but despite being younger than Xhaka, he was vital in helping the midfielder turn his form around.
“How Carlos improved — day by day, month by month, year on year — was unbelievable. The individual meetings that we had with him were always on point, very clear to understand, and I was very grateful to learn many many new things,” Xhaka added.
“The relationship between Carlos and me was very special. I think how we were thinking as people was exactly the same. The honesty we showed each other, and other people, was always the same.
“He helped me a lot. We had so many individual meetings, video sessions, and conversations. To be honest, these things helped bring me where I am today.”
Cuesta is renowned for his one-to-one coaching ability, which has helped several players in the Arsenal squad improve their performances.
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The Spaniard was courted by Norwich City for their vacant head coach role this summer, but he stayed at the Emirates. Whilst Arteta will be happy to keep him in his staff for now, he knows that Cuesta moving on to become a manager may be inevitable.
“I am sure that one day he will be a manager for a big, big, big club,” Xhaka continued.
“I say this because he knows what he wants, he has clear ideas, and he has clear goals that he wants to achieve.
“I am certain that one day we will see him on the touchline as a manager.”