John Stones should be an option for Arsenal to consider
One consistent theme which has been seen this season with Arsenal has been their propensity to concede goals through defensive errors. It was something that was one of the reasons for Unai Emery losing his job, and has persisted with Mikel Arteta at the helm as well. As recently as in the game against Tottenham, we saw yet another mistake from an Arsenal defender, this time Sead Kolasinac, lead to an opposition goal. At other times, David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis have all been guilty of errors which have put Arsenal in bad positions during matches. This has been a cause for concern for Arteta as well as the Arsenal fanbase, as these are all experienced defenders who have been making schoolboy errors and costing Arsenal valuable points.
The Gunners have conceded 45 goals in 36 games so far this season, and Arteta needs to significantly improve that side of things if he wants the club to be challenging towards the top end of the table next season. To that end, Arsenal could do worse than consider John Stones at Manchester City as a potential defensive recruit. While Arsenal fans may blanch at the thought, given that Stones is also notorious for having lapses in concentration, he is probably a better defender than most of Arsenal’s current options. Stones has struggled to establish himself at the Etihad, with injuries and loss of form meaning that he has spent a lot of time on the sidelines since his £47.5million move from Everton four years ago. It needs to be remembered that the fee for Stones was the second-highest for a defender at the time, showing just how highly-rated he was back then.
Stones has made 160 Premier League appearances, and also has 39 caps for England, demonstrating that even at the age of 26 he is quite experienced at the top level. He has played from the start in City’s last three league games, and while that may be a function of the fact that City have secured second place in the league and do not really have anything to play for, he has done well during this time, and Pep Guardiola has stated that there is no doubt about Stones’ ability, it is just a question of him staying fit for long periods of time. The Englishman is looking to get his career back on track and regain his spot in the England side, and a move to Arsenal would be a good way to do so, where he could be the leader of the defence and play every week, fitness permitting, of course.
The odds for a move to North London have been slashed quite a bit in recent days on the best online betting sites, and while there is still a lot of uncertainty around Stones’ next move, Arsenal do look like an appealing option for him. With the club having made Pablo Mari’s loan deal permanent, and also set to welcome highly-rated French youngster William Saliba to the team in the summer, the addition of Stones could provide a solid base for Arsenal to build upon, especially if they manage to get rid of the likes of Sokratis and Mustafi.
