Man City’s answer to William Saliba agreeing new Arsenal contract could come back to bite them

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Arsenal centre-back William Saliba has agreed a five-year contract extension.

While GRV Media’s transfer expert Graeme Bailey revealed Manchester City believe Ruben Dias is the Premier League’s best defender, the Frenchman is right up there with the 28-year-old.

From Pep Guardiola’s standpoint, Arsenal’s decision is one worth keeping an eye on as Saliba’s presence could further bolster their chances of winning silverware — with journalist David Ornstein claiming he is set to extend his contract in the coming days.

Manchester City could extend John Stones’ contract beyond 2027 as well.

Man City should not give John Stones a new contract

However, while Arsenal are set to tie Saliba, 24, down to a new deal, Manchester City hoping to reward the 31-year-old John Stones in the same manner would be a decision that could further increase the gap between the two clubs.

The former Saint-Etienne centre-back has yet to hit the peak of his powers while one could make the case that the England international is past his prime and on the wrong side of 30.

While there is no denying that the six-time Premier League winner has been magnificent for Manchester City, he has been far too injury-prone since winning the treble in 2023.

This season as well, Stones suffered a minor injury and in the past two campaigns, he has started a mere 18 games in the Premier League.

Stones banks £250,000-a-week at Manchester City and even from a financial perspective, it does not make much sense to continue playing the defender a king’s ransom as his fitness woes persist.

One of the reasons behind City’s decline as a side has occurred due to having an abundance of older players in their squad, with names like Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Kyle Walker and Mateo Kovacic all not being particularly impressive during their dismal previous campaign.

Stones was far from his best as well and unless Manchester City let him go, they will unable to continue rebuilding their squad and return to becoming the top dogs of English and European football again.

John Stones and William Saliba’s stats compared last season

This campaign as well, the former Everton defender has not covered himself in glory, as his poor clearance in the lead-up to Brajan Gruda’s winning goal against City cost his side.

Against Tottenham as well, Stones played Brennan Johnson onside before he opened the scoring but based on his stats over the past 365 days, he can be considered on Saliba’s level.

However, it is important to note that Saliba has played far more football for Arsenal over the same time period in comparison to Stones.

Manchester City must take a decision about the decorated defender’s future based on the season they have or regret keeping him for too long.