EXCLUSIVE: Arteta to step up efforts to bring Man City star to Arsenal

Mikel Arteta will step up his efforts to bring Manchester City defender John Stones to Arsenal this summer, we can reveal.

City are ready to embark on a reboot of their squad, and a major part of that will see a number of defenders allowed to leave including Benjamin Mendy, Nicolas Otamendi and Stones.

Arsenal are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements and Gunners club sources have told us that Arteta believes that Stones would be a fantastic addition.

City have made it known to Stones’ people that they would want to get their money back on the player, having signed him from Everton in a £50million deal in 2016.

Arsenal are ready to come up with a deal worth that, but his former club Everton and Gunners rivals Tottenham are also keen. Arteta, however, believes he could hold the key in persuading Stones to make the move.

Stones has already accepted that his future lies away from the club, as he knows he is not first choice at City and he is unsure whether he will be part of England’s Euro 2020 squad – although that does appear likely.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could have a huge hole to fill up front this summer if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaves the club, with four players tipped to replace him.

Latest rumours suggest that the Gunners will not be able to afford the striker’s increased wages to extend his deal and the he will almost certainly move on at the end of the current campaign.

Aubameyang will enter the final 12 months of his contract this summer, and the club’s hierarchy would sooner fetch a decent fee for him rather than lose the 30-year-old for nothing in 2021. Read more…