Arsenal had gone into the summer window looking to add a versatile defender capable of playing full-back and offering cover for William Saliba and Gabriel through the middle, with reported interest in Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa, whose valuation is understood to be in the region of £60m.
That need has taken on fresh urgency after Saliba was forced off during France's World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain with a recurrence of a back problem, with a decision on potential surgery still pending and a lengthy spell on the sidelines now considered likely.
Stones, 32, left Manchester City as a free agent at the end of last season after a decade at the club, making history at the World Cup by becoming the first player to feature for England while not registered with a club.
Arteta knows him well from their time working together at Manchester City, having joined as Pep Guardiola's assistant in the summer of 2016, just weeks before Stones arrived from Everton. The pair worked together for three years before Arteta left to take the Arsenal job.
Arsenal are not alone in considering a move, with Chelsea among the other clubs credited with interest in the centre-back. Arteta was previously asked directly about a move for Stones back in January 2020, when Arsenal were linked with a January window swoop, and although he dismissed those particular rumours as having "no truth at all," he made clear even then how highly he rated the player.
"John is a player I really like," Arteta said at the time. "We followed him before we signed him when I was at City. I worked with him for many years.
"I know him well and when I look at centre-backs he has many attributes I like, but we are not interested in him."
That stance looks very different six years on, with Stones now available without a transfer fee and Arsenal facing a genuine defensive shortage. Any move is still likely to depend on the full extent of Saliba's injury being established before Arsenal commit further.