Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing John Stones and are plotting a shock move to sign the Manchester City defender this January.
If the exclusive report by The Sun is to be believed, Arsenal are hot on the tails of Manchester City defender John Stones. The Gunners are keen on prising the English international away from the Etihad in this January’s transfer window, even if it is on a loan deal.
Stones arrived at Manchester City from Everton in the summer of 2016, with the great hope of being the long-term defensive solution for the club and a possible successor to Vincent Kompany. Three years on and the English defender has failed to make good on the promise he showed while with the Toffees.
The current campaign has been one to forget for the 25-year-old, who has started just 11 of the 34 games that Manchester City have played, with injuries and poor form hampering his progress. His place in the English national side is also under threat, which is why it looks as if Stones would be open to the idea of a January exit. Arsenal are interested in the player.
The Gunners have shown some improvements on the defensive aspect of the game in the early days under Mikel Arteta. Even so, the need to sign a centre-back appears to be urgent in the wake of Calum Chambers’s season-ending knee injury. Having also allowed Konstantinos Mavropanos to join Nurnberg on loan, the Arsenal boss is left with just three recognised centre-backs.
To that end, Arsenal have been advised by former player Stewart Robson to move for Nathan Ake this winter. According to The Sun, though, it is Stones who has emerged as a top target for the North Londoners. The player, who is represented by the same agency as Arteta, is open to a January move away from Manchester City, even if it is a loan deal.
It will be interesting to see if Manchester City are willing to part ways with Stones, considering Pep Guardiola is already short of senior central defenders. According to David Ornstein on his podcast on The Athletic, Milan Skriniar is a target and if they are to swoop the Slovak away from Inter Milan, Stones could be given the escape route to Arsenal.
For now, though, it seems like Stones is a target for Arsenal this January, with Mikel Arteta eager to bolster his defensive options. It now remains to be seen if Manchester City entertain the idea of letting the English international, who wants to boost his chances for Euro 2020, join Arsenal this winter.
