Pep Guardiola has refuted the suggestion he no longer trusts John Stones.

The man who became the Premier League’s most expensive defender when he arrived from Everton for £50m in the summer has watched Manchester City’s last two games from the bench. The fact that City won them both and restricted Watford and Arsenal to very limited goalscoring opportunities would have done little for his chances of an early recall.

“I know the theory that if a player does not play it is because the coach does not trust him anymore,” said Guardiola before the Boxing Day meeting at Hull.

“This is not the truth. Our job is uncomfortable. It is unfair in most of the cases of many, many players because they deserve to play but I cannot find a solution for these kinds of things.

“All of them have to be prepared to play because the season is so long and now we start a tough moment. Then there is the FA Cup and then there is the Champions League.”

Like his fellow Englishman, Raheem Sterling, Stones adapted impressively to Guardiola’s tactics before falling away.

But while Sterling kept his place and scored the winner against Arsenal, Stones has been the victim of Guardiola’s decision to switch to a flat back four after successive defeats by Chelsea and Leicester.

It was the 4-0 thrashing by Barcelona in the Nou Camp in October where Stones first looked seriously exposed. The following month, Roy Keane lambasted the 22-year-old’s ‘childlike defending’ after the Borussia Monchengladbach captain, Lars Stindl, brushed him aside for the German club’s equaliser.

In his last game before being dropped, Stones was guilty of a dreadfully-lax back pass to allow Jamie Vardy to complete his hat-trick during City’s 4-2 defeat at Leicester.

Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Show all 23 1 /23 Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Manchester City vs Arsenal Who impressed as Pep Guardiola's side beat Unai Emery's at the Etihad Stadium? The Independent Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Ederson - 8 out of 10 Came off his line superbly to beat Aubameyang to the ball. Little he could do to prevent Koscielny’s equaliser. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Kyle Walker - 6 out of 10 An improvement on some recent performances. Comfortable when in a back three after playing the same role with England. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Nicolas Otamendi - 6 out of 10 A forceful presence at the back, sometimes too forceful. One robust first-half challenge on Lacazette went unnoticed. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Aymeric Laporte - 7 out of 10 Picks up a rare assist, crossing for Aguero’s first, then saw a goal disallowed for offside. Covered well for Sterling, who was alone on the left flank. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Fernandinho - 7 out of 10 Initially struggled to exert his usual control over the midfield in the first half, perhaps because he had to keep dropping back into defence, but improved. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Bernardo Silva - 7 out of 10 Out of position on the wing and less influential than he often is in a central role but still troubled Arsenal’s left side. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Ilkay Gundogan - 8 out of 10 Almost faultless when distributing the ball. A delicate chip over the top of the defence in the build-up to Aguero’s goal was his best. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings David Silva - 7 out of 10 Not masterful from Il Mago but an all-round improvement on his display at St James’ Park, sprinkled with the odd special touch or pass. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Kevin De Bruyne - 6 out of 10 Did not have his usual influence on the game. An off-day though hardly anything to be concerned about. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Raheem Sterling - 8 out of 10 Created two of Aguero’s three, ghosting superbly behind Lichtsteiner for the second. Asked to cover the entire left flank but did not look out of place. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Sergio Aguero - 9 out of 10 Header, right foot, left arm. An unconventional hat-trick but his 14th in City colours. The wrong side of 30 now but his predatory instincts have not waned. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Bernd Leno - 6 out of 10 Dives too early and the wrong way for Aguero’s first but denied City impressively on several occasions after it. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Stephan Lichtsteiner - 5 out of 10 Caught out by Sterling’s intelligent movement, particularly on City’s second. Arsenal’s third-choice at right back and it showed. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Shkodran Mustafi - 6 out of 10 Equalises from Torreira corner, Monreal flick-on, but culpable for letting Aguero go at the far post for City’s crucial second. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Laurent Koscielny - 5 out of 10 Five yards behind the rest of the Arsenal defence for Aguero’s first, playing every City player onside, though perhaps did not anticipate Iwobi’s error. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Nacho Monreal - 7 out of 10 Neat near-post flick-on for Koscielny’s equaliser. Coped well enough with Bernardo despite being given little support. Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Alex Iwobi - 5 out of 10 Dispossessed deep in his own half by Laporte. Attempted to make up for his mistake and was tidy enough, though did little to atone. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Lucas Torreira - 8 out of 10 Made several key interceptions and tackles, especially as momentum shifted towards Arsenal in the first half. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Matteo Guendouzi - 7 out of 10 Poor start but did not hide and grew into the game as it went on. Largely shut down City’s midfield with Torreira until the game got away from Arsenal. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Sead Kolasinac - 6 out of 10 Stationed at left midfield but perhaps too adventurous for his full-back’s liking, with Monreal left one-on-one with Bernardo too often. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Alexandre Lacazette - 6 out of 10 Him and Aubameyang were sat strangely deep, bulking up Arsenal’s midfield, and this affected his ability to get forward. Getty Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 6 out of 10 As with Lacazette, often too deep to threaten, though a little brighter than his partner and Arsenal’s main threat on the counter-attack. Getty

Guardiola ridiculed suggestions Manchester City might buy the Southampton centre-half Virgil van Dijk to shore up their defence, although he did concede the club could do with cover at full back.

Asked how a naturally-talented but still young defender like Stones might improve, Guardiola replied: “Play, play and play.” He added: “It is the only way you can improve as a football player.

“If a manager plays a lot of games, you are a better manager. John needs to train every day, be fit and wait until I decide he has to play again.

“He has played a lot. It is the first time in his career that he has played every three days. This season he has had the Champions League as well as the League Cup and every three days you have to be focused.

Stones' error against Leicester proved to be the tipping point for Guardiola (Getty)

“If I didn’t have confidence in him, he would not have played the games he has played. Of course, he must improve, just like Nicolas Otamendi and Aleks Kolarov must improve.

“John is young, he has to improve but he is open and he has a lot of personality. When you play in the big teams, you have to show character.