Arteta: I won’t block coaches leaving Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted he will not block any member of his backroom staff from taking a managerial job amid interest from Norwich City in Carlos Cuesta becoming their next boss.

Sources have told ESPN that Norwich have identified Arsenal coach Cuesta as a possible replacement for manager David Wagner, who is under mounting pressure with Norwich scrambling to make the Championship playoffs as they sit seventh in the table.

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Norwich are unlikely to make an immediate change but are considering a move either before the end of the season or this summer, with Cuesta, 28, forging a reputation as one of football’s top young coaches since joining Arsenal from Juventus in 2020.

Ben Knapper has already left Arsenal for Norwich and, in his role as the club’s sporting director, he is believed to be driving their interest in Cuesta. It is unclear whether Cuesta would accept the job if it was offered to him.

Asked whether he would stand in the way of a coach if they asked to leave, Arteta said on Friday: “If that’s the will? You cannot do that. I wouldn’t, no.

“With the staff as well, everybody need to feel there is a path, there is a development plan for everyone. People don’t want to do the same thing for three, four, five years. It is a way to incentivise and inspire other people and then to explore because you don’t really know the limit of a person unless you expose him to certain things.

“I think curiosity is a really important quality that we have within our young staff and that drives the rest.

“We all need opportunities. I got the opportunity when I didn’t have any experience in coaching, first at Man City and here. I’m very grateful for that.

“It is my responsibility to give, when you see talent, when you see that level of passion and enthusiasm to give them the chance as well to show what they can deliver.”