Arsenal have been linked with John Stones who was recently compared to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
It would have been a surprise to some when Manchester City’s John Stones was linked with a move to Arsenal this month, but it would have been more of a surprise when he was compared with Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
There’s no doubt that for far too long Arsenal have lacked a player in the mould of Liverpool’s defensive rock. He is the best defender in the world and is on the verge of winning the Premier League title.
Arsenal fans can only dream of having a player like that on their books, but according to Sky Sports pundit, Graeme Souness, a certain defender linked with a move to the Emirates in Stones has ‘absolutely everything’ and if he ‘gets his act together’ then he can be spoken about in the ‘same breath’ as Van Dijk.
Therefore, would Arsenal, and Mikel Arteta, who worked with Stones at the Etihad, be smart in making a move for the England defender or is it one that they simply shouldn’t look at?
Souness made his comments prior to Manchester City’s thumping 6-1 win at Aston Villa last week, and whilst he didn’t comment on the Stones speculation, he thinks there is a serious player in there.
“It would be far easier to talk about what he’s not got. He has got everything,” said Souness, as quoted by The Manchester Evening News.
“I think he falls down with his decision making at critical times. If you go through all his assets, pace, great control, size, got a presence about him. I think he could be a top, top player. And by that I mean not just in our league but outside of it.
“Here’s the best way I can put it. I think, if he got his act together and made his decision-making better, we would be talking about him in the same breath as Van Dijk. He has got those sorts of qualities – The young man has got absolutely everything.”
The Daily Mail have claimed that City will reject any moves for Stones this month, and given that not many major deals get done during the winter transfer window, this is one to perhaps look out for in the summer.
One major transfer that did take place in January 2017 was Liverpool securing Van Dijk’s services from Southampton for £75 million [BBC Sport].
Since that day, the Dutchman, nor Liverpool have looked back. Jurgen Klopp has proven that one or two signings at the back can make a whole lot of difference.
Arsenal have the attacking players who can hurt many a team on their day. It’s just a case of adding in those top-quality defensive-minded players, along with Arteta’s coaching, which they are hoping will make huge differences to them and take them back to where their fans want them to be.
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