‘Such a blessed football player’: Raheem Sterling raves about reported Arsenal target

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Arsenal are on the lookout for a new creative midfielder. The Gunners are desperate for some spark in attack, but that isn’t the only position Mikel Arteta is looking to strengthen in the January transfer window.

EuroSport reported at the start of this month that Arsenal have asked to be kept informed on John Stones’ transfer status. The Englishman hasn’t been the first-choice at Manchester City for a while now.

He was heavily linked with a move away in the summer, but no move materialised. Arteta knows Stones very well having worked with him at the Etihad during his time there, and it isn’t that big a shock to learn that he might be keen.

The Arsenal man, however, isn’t the only man really impressed with Stones. Manchester City star Raheem Sterling has been singing praises of his compatriot, and if his words are anything to go by, the defender trains like an animal every day.

Sterling told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport: “He’s such a blessed football player. When he first came to Man City we were all banking on him to be that number one centre-back in the world because that’s the talent that I see in him that’s he got.”

“To be honest, he trains like an animal since he hasn’t been in the team. He hasn’t dropped his head. He hasn’t sulked once. He’s in the gym every day. When I see him now reaping those rewards I am really happy for him.”

Should Arsenal sign John Stones?

Stones played just once in City’s first nine Premier League games. He played three games on the bounce since, and Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in those fixtures in the English top-flight.

Arsenal don’t need a new centre-back immediately. Arteta has plenty of options at his disposal at the moment, but everything will change at the end of this season. David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi will all be free agents, and they will likely be released.

The Gunners will need a new central defender for next season, and Stones wouldn’t be that bad an option. However, if Arsenal somehow manage to get into the Champions League, we will have to look for someone much better than the Englishman.