{"id":21171,"date":"2026-07-25T03:39:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T03:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=21171"},"modified":"2026-07-25T03:39:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T03:39:48","slug":"john-stones-to-arsenal-saliba-blow-forces-arteta-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=21171","title":{"rendered":"John Stones to Arsenal? Saliba blow forces Arteta move"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"content-main\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!--post-header--><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"post-excerpt left\"><\/p>\n<p>Arsenal can go for free agent John Stones in this summer.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"post-feat-img\" class=\"left relative\" itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-50.webp\" class=\"attachment- size- wp-post-image\" alt=\"Manchester City - Man City\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-50.webp 1200w, https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-50-600x338.webp 600w, https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-50-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-50.webp\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"1200\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"675\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!--post-feat-img--><\/p>\n<section class=\"social-sharing-top\">\n<p><span class=\"fb-but1\"><i class=\"fa-brands fa-facebook-f\"\/><\/span><span class=\"social-text\">Share<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.open('http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=John Stones to Arsenal? Saliba blow forces Arteta move -&amp;url=https:\/\/sixsports.in\/john-stones-to-arsenal-saliba-blow-forces-arteta-move\/', 'twitterShare', 'width=626,height=436'); return false;\" title=\"Share This Post\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"twitter-but1\"><i class=\"fa-brands fa-x-twitter\"\/><\/span><span class=\"social-text\">Share<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"whatsapp-but1\"><i class=\"fa fa-whatsapp fa-2\"\/><\/span><span class=\"social-text\">Share<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"pinterest-but1\"><i class=\"fa-brands fa-pinterest-p\"\/><\/span><span class=\"social-text\">Share<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"email-but\"><i class=\"fa fa-envelope fa-2\"\/><\/span><span class=\"social-text\">Email<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><!--social-sharing-top--><\/p>\n<div class=\"sx-entity-card\">\n<div class=\"sx-entity-top\">\n<div class=\"sx-entity-logo\">\n                <img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"345\" height=\"350\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/arsenal_logo.avif\" alt=\"ARSENAL\"\/>\n            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"sx-entity-description\">\n<p>            Full name: Arsenal Football Club \u00a0Nickname: The Gunners Founded: October 1886 Stadium: Emirates Stadium Owner: Kroenke Sports and Entertainment Co-chairmen: Stan Kroenke, Josh Kroenke Manager: Mikel Arteta League: Premier League Season 2025\/26: Champions Website: arsenal.com Arsenal football club is one\u2026            <a class=\"sx-entity-readmore\" href=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/team\/arsenal\/\"><br \/>\n                Read More about ARSENAL\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arsenal are planning to sign a new centre back to support their backline and John Stones is the most prominent name to be discussed. They need another central defender because William Saliba picked up a back injury during World Cup. After losing one of their the best centre backs, they are active in the market. Along with John Stones, Ezri Konsa\u2019s name is also coming out but there is a huge price gap.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-who-between-john-stones-and-ezri-konsa-could-join-arsenal\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who between John Stones and Ezri Konsa could join Arsenal?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arsenal centre back William Saliba picked up a back injury in the World Cup semi final between France and Spain<strong>.<\/strong> France eventually lost that game but Arsenal faced a major setback through Saliba\u2019s injury. Arsenal\u2019s club website has officially informed that surgery is not required for the 25-year-old. But he will serve his rehabilitation period. The Gunners defender will be sidelined for a long time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As reported by The Athletic, English defender John Stones is available in the market as a free agent. His contract with Man City has expired in June, 2026. The Englishman is also in Chelsea\u2019s transfer shortlist. Arsenal may have a slight upper hand over the <strong>Blues<\/strong> in this transfer move as Arteta and Stones have a good relationship. The Spanish coach was the assistant of Pep Guardiola at Man City previously. Arteta worked with the 32-year-old at <strong>City<\/strong> at that time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ezri Konsa is also a potential option in the list. The 28-year-old, being younger than Stones and having two years left in his Villa contract, could cost more. Arsenal had enquired about the total expense of the deal. They found a massive gap in price with Aston Villa. Both the English defenders have played a significant role in the <strong>World Cup<\/strong>. They justify their versatility by being able to play as a right back also.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-key-statistic\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Statistic:<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>John Stones\u2019 stats in 2025-26 season for Manchester City, according to FOTMOB:<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Competitions<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Appearances<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Tackles<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Interceptions<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Clearances<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Premier League<\/td>\n<td>9<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>21<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>FA Cup<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>4<\/td>\n<td>20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>EFL Cup<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>UEFA Champions League<\/td>\n<td>4<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" alt=\"Manchester City - Man City\" class=\"wp-image-203122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-100.webp 1200w, https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-100-600x338.webp 600w, https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-100-768x432.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-100.webp\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-100.webp\" alt=\"Manchester City - Man City\" class=\"wp-image-203122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-100.webp 1200w, https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-100-600x338.webp 600w, https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Manchester-City-Man-City-100-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-mikel-arteta-has-appreciated-john-stones\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mikel Arteta has appreciated John Stones<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Addition of John Stones to the Arsenal squad could be ideal. Arteta has already worked with him in <strong>Premier League<\/strong> and therefore he knows his profile. Moreover, he is available as a free agent. So, no transfer fees need to be paid. The <strong>Gunners<\/strong> just need to agree personal terms with the defender. On top of that, Stones has been part of Guardiola\u2019s Man City for 10 years and has won 18 trophies, according to Transfermarkt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As reported by Sky Sports, Mikel Arteta has praised Stones as he has seen him closely. Arsenal manager said, <strong><em>\u201cJohn is a player I really like. We followed him before we signed him when I was at City. I worked with him for many years. I know him well and when I look at centre-backs, he has many attributes that I like.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  Stones could be a good alternative to Saliba while he serves his recovery period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the Englishman\u2019s injury record could raise problems. He featured in just 9 Premier League games in 2025-26 season and 11 games in 2024-25 campaign, according to FOTMOB. As reported by TEAMtalk, Aston Villa, Leeds and Everton are also interested in the former Man City defender.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-ezri-konsa-s-deal-is-a-hard-nut-to-crack\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ezri Konsa\u2019s deal is a hard nut to crack<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Aston Villa defender is an aggressive defender who is well suited to Premier League <strong>football<\/strong>. His physical abilities and clean injury record would make him a fantastic signing. Konsa is press resistant and can operate in a possession based system. But convincing Aston Villa to sell him would be difficult as Unai Emery\u2019s side has set a \u00a360m price tag on him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>READ MORE: John Stones to Chelsea? Free transfer twist emerges<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>READ NEXT: William Saliba makes huge injury call as Arsenal fear long absence<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>ALSO READ: Mishel Nduka chooses Man City over Arsenal in transfer blow<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"after-article-links\" style=\"margin-top:20px; font-size:14px;\">Follow the latest updates from <strong>Premier League<\/strong>, <strong>The League<\/strong> and<br \/>\n        <strong>Champions League<\/strong>or explore more<br \/>\n        <strong>Football<\/strong> stories, <strong>Football Teams<\/strong> &#038; <strong>All Football Competitions<\/strong> . Follow more updates on ARSENAL, CHELSEA and MANCHESTER CITY. You can also check <strong>Latest Sports News<\/strong> or visit <strong>Six Sports<\/strong> for more Football updates.<\/div>\n<div class=\"fe-author-box\">\n<div class=\"fe-author-avatar\">\n        <img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f9b59f153ef625a7e38dc112896cdd35b58db39a3e19e0efe5fb118a91488d4?s=200&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-100 photo\" height=\"100\" width=\"100\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f9b59f153ef625a7e38dc112896cdd35b58db39a3e19e0efe5fb118a91488d4?s=100&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f9b59f153ef625a7e38dc112896cdd35b58db39a3e19e0efe5fb118a91488d4?s=100&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f9b59f153ef625a7e38dc112896cdd35b58db39a3e19e0efe5fb118a91488d4?s=200&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-100 photo\" height=\"100\" width=\"100\" decoding=\"async\"\/>    <\/div>\n<div class=\"fe-author-content\">\n<h2 class=\"fe-author-name\">\n<p>                Subhabrata Pal<br \/>\n        <\/h2>\n<p class=\"fe-author-bio\">\n<p>                Subhabrata Pal is a Junior Football Writer at Six Sports, covering developments across domestic and international football. His work focuses on match reports, player performances, and important updates from major football competitions.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nThrough his contributions at Six Sports, Subhabrata writes football news stories, match-focused coverage, and analytical pieces that highlight team performances, standout players, and key moments shaping the sport.            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mvp-org-wrap\" itemprop=\"publisher\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\">\n<div class=\"mvp-org-logo\" itemprop=\"logo\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"690\" height=\"145\" src=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Six-Sports.png\" src-webp=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Six-Sports.png.webp\" class=\"ewww_webp_lazy_load\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"690\" height=\"145\" src=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Six-Sports.png\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/sixsports.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Six-Sports.png\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!--mvp-org-logo--><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Six Sports\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!--mvp-org-wrap--><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!--posts-nav-link--><\/p>\n<div class=\"mentioned-article-block\">\n<h3 class=\"mentioned-title\">Mentioned in this Article<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!--comments-button--><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!--comments-->\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal can go for free agent John Stones in this summer. Share Share Share Share&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}