New York City FC head coach Nick Cushing will remain with the club in 2025, dismissing rumors linking him to the open managerial post at Arsenal Women FC.
"Listen, the whole story is news to me," Cushing said in response to a question posed by radio announcer Roberto Abramowitz in Thursday's pregame press conference. "I said last week when I was asked about contact, there has been no contact from anybody outside of this organization with myself. Listen, I can confirm I will be here next year."
Nick Cushing Pregame Press Conference | November 7, 2024
Courtesy newyorkcityfc.com
Cushing was directly addressing the persistent stream of stories in the British media are reporting that Arsenal are making him their top target to replace departed manager Jonas Eidevall. BBC Sport called Cushing one of the "main candidates" as recently as Tuesday.
The rumors first surfaced on October 23, when Charlotte Harpur and James McNicholas wrote in The Athletic that Arsenal consider Cushing "their primary target." The article reports that Arsenal thinks so highly of Cushing that they are willing to wait until his current contract with New York City runs out after the end of the 2025 Major League Soccer season.
A move to Arsenal would be a return for Cushing to the Women's Soccer League. Cushing was the manager of Manchester City Women from 2013 to 2020, and his teams won four trophies in that time: The FA Women's League Cup (2014, 2016), the WSL title (2016), and the FA Women's Cup (2016-2017).
But the 39-year-old Cushing, who is in his third year in charge of NYCFC, said his priority is to guide his team in Game 3 of a best-of-three matchup in Round One of the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, which will be played on Saturday at 4 pm ET. New York City will face FC Cincinnati, who won Game 1 at TQL Stadium. But New York City won Game 2 at Citi Field last Saturday, and the winner of tomorrow's game will host New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals following their upset win over Columbus Crew last week.