Why John Stones is still good enough to be on Arsenal and Chelsea’s radar

When a Premier League and Champions League winner becomes available in the market, and for no transfer fee, why wouldn’t Europe’s top clubs be on high alert?

John Stones is a free agent after 10 seasons with Manchester City, his departure bringing an end to a glittering spell where he lifted 20 major trophies at the club. His mix of experience, leadership and winning mentality is unparalleled. While some potential suitors might have concerns over the 94-cap England international’s long-term fitness, not all teams are deterred by Stones’ injury history.

As The Athletic recently reported, Arsenal are considering bringing the 32-year-old in, while Chelsea have him on a list of centre-backs they are considering.

It might be a stretch to suggest that any club would be looking to recruit Stones to be an immediate regular starter, but the fundamental attributes that he offers are unquestionably coveted — particularly among those teams who are likely to dominate possession in matches.

This is a defender who has just helped England to a World Cup semi-final this summer, providing much-needed composure to Thomas Tuchel’s back line, both on and off the ball.

“I think he is a world-class player; he is an amazing character and a proven winner,” Tuchel said after naming Stones in his World Cup squad. “He knows how to adapt to a winning culture, and adapt tactically on the field. He is still on the highest level when I see him play and move.

“We analysed a lot of his training data, because there is not a lot of proof (in terms of matches played) in the last half of the season, unfortunately, but the good news is that he was available. The bad news is that he was not selected (by City) as much as we hoped for.”

Stones later echoed his manager’s words on his availability, but reservations over his fitness are valid.

He has barely scraped 1,000 league minutes together since the beginning of the 2024-25 season, with his last meaningful impact coming in 2022-23 — where his ball-playing abilities were amplified in a midfield role during City’s treble-winning season.

Casting those doubts aside for this exercise, there are few players in European football with Stones’ ability as a tempo-dictating central defender.

Possession is sacred to his long-time City manager Pep Guardiola, and Stones can be seen as the poster boy for the Spaniard’s style of play — he has a peerless ability to look after the ball. Since 2018-19, no Premier League centre-back (with 900-plus minutes of game time) has logged a higher passing accuracy than Stones’ 94 per cent.

His primary remit has always been to keep things simple, play the ball short, and provide the foundation for his team’s build-up. Of the 232 centre-backs included in the sample mentioned above, only 10 averaged a lower share of passes played long (passes of 35-plus yards) than Stones’ six per cent — and five of those were fellow City players.

The efficacy of Stones’ skill set was brought into sharper focus during that treble-winning season in 2022-23.

As Guardiola sought out a tactical tweak in the spring months of City’s historical campaigns in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, Stones would regularly step into midfield from right centre-back or right-back to support their ball progression.

Here for example, in the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, you can see Stones operating as a central defender in the early stages of build-up…

… but he would regularly stride forward to provide an extra man in midfield that would allow City to operate with a 3-2-5 shape few sides had an answer to.

It shows the degree of tactical intelligence that was required of Stones and was highly regarded by Guardiola, knowing when to step into midfield and time his movement according to the phase of play.

It was during that season’s Champions League final that his hybrid role shone on the biggest stage, as he completed all six of his dribbles on the night against Inter. Famously, the last player to log more on European club football’s biggest stage was Lionel Messi in Barcelona’s 2015 defeat of Juventus.

That confidence to step forward has not been lost, and it was on show this summer.

Against Norway in the quarter-finals, Stones briefly swapped positions with right-back Ezri Konsa to pull into a wider position — receiving the ball in the right channel before underlapping Bukayo Saka and dragging opposition players with him.

It is a simple action, but not one that you would associate with your typical centre-back.

That versatility to occupy different spaces, perform different roles, and play in different positions would be highly regarded by whichever employer lands his signature this summer.

Such is the quality of his attributes in possession that Stones’ defending feels like an adjunct to his core on-ball attributes.

Stylistically, he has rarely been one to go looking for trouble when defending his goal, with 2.5 “true” tackles — denoting tackles plus fouls committed plus challenges lost — per 1,000 opponent touches being among the bottom seven per cent of Premier League centre-backs since 2018-19.

Through wise positioning and sharp defensive awareness, he prefers to wait before engaging — often finding himself in the right place at the right time by using every ounce of his experience.

Facing Erling Haaland in that last-eight clash with Norway, Stones is ultimately left one-v-one with his now former team-mate as the ball is at the feet of Alexander Sorloth.

Haaland has the option to run either side of him to get in behind England’s back line (red arrows), but Stones does not overcommit defensively — using quick footwork to adjust his positioning as he retreats, tracking Haaland’s run before reading the (albeit poor) pass to intercept and clear the potential danger.

Stones can command a penalty area when his side do sit deep, but this ability to defend space when further up the field is more likely to be desired by a possession-dominant team playing with a higher defensive line.

That experience garnered from City’s playing style will give potential suitors confidence that he can replicate those attributes elsewhere.

That is not to underestimate Stones’ ability in the agricultural side of the game, as he offers a strong aerial presence in both boxes. No City player has scored more than his 10 set-piece goals since the start of 2018-19, and a 68 per cent aerial win rate in those eight seasons puts him in the top 10 per cent of centre-backs across the Premier League.

Physicality is an important aspect in winning such duels, but Stones’ timing is often impeccable in the crucial moments.

When England were forced back in their World Cup semi-final against Argentina, his back-foot defending kept Messi and company at arm’s length for long periods — with his headed clearance against Nicolas Tagliafico averting danger in the second half.

As shown below, Stones’ starting position allows Tagliafico to get goalside as the cross is delivered to the back post by Messi, but his recovery to drop back into his own six-yard box and win the second contact was essential in preventing Argentina from having an effort on goal.

Stones’ leadership and experience are guaranteed traits for any prospective club looking to secure his signature.

More importantly, they would be getting one of the most tactically intelligent centre-backs the European game has seen in the past decade.

Concerns over his fitness record might still linger for some, but his play at the World Cup served as a reminder that Stones does still have plenty left in the tank when it comes to operating at the highest level.