Pep Guardiola has hailed Arsenal-linked John Stones for turning his career around at Manchester City this season, as he told his pre-match press conference.
The Sunday Mirror have previously claimed that Man City have halted talks on Stones putting pen-to-paper on a new deal, with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta being a ‘huge admirer’ of the player.
Less than 12 months ago, it seemed as though Stones’ career at the Etihad was coming to an end and he was heading for the exit door.
Guardiola was asked how Stones has managed to turn it around at Man City, and whether it’s down to his coaching or the defender’s own work.
“Absolutely him, I have said many times,” said Guardiola. “He organised his life. He is an incredible professional and he’s not injured.
“In the previous seasons, every month he was injured and that’s why the problem that we had. He’s exceptional because he did it. He turned the situation himself.
“In this situation, the manager’s cannot help. He decided to become a football player. A top player and it is what it is.”
In the 14 Premier League games Stones has played this season, he has only conceded four goals and helped the current leaders keep an astonishing 11 clean sheets.
Mikel Arteta would have worked with the ball-playing centre-half closely at the Etihad and he would no doubt love a player of his quality at Arsenal now.
Whilst Arsenal have had an abundance of defensive players on their books, the majority of them simply haven’t been good enough.
At centre-back, Gabriel is perhaps the only one Arsenal fans would be happy to run with, in the long run, but he needs a partner and it’s clear with Stones’ turnaround that he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
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