Stephen John Hughes (born 18 September 1976 in Wokingham) is an English former footballer, who most recently played as a midfielder for Walsall. He signed as a free agent, following his release from Coventry City, where he rejected a new contract.
Hughes started his career at Arsenal, where he made 76 senior appearances, 40 of them as a substitute, and scored 7 goals. He made 16 appearances as Arsenal won the 1997-98 FA Premier League. Hughes’ highlight for that season was scoring twice as Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2-0 at home. He also made 6 appearances in Arsenal’s FA Cup run that season, including the semi final against Wolves, but was left out of the squad for the 1998 FA Cup Final as they clinched the double. Another highlight was a 25 yard last minute equaliser against Leicester City at Filbert Street the following season.

Hughes then moved to Everton in March 2000, for a fee of £3 million. He played 33 games for them before being released on a free transfer on 4 July 2001. He then moved on to First Division side Watford that same month, having scored his two Everton goals against them; once in the league and once in the FA Cup. He only managed 17 games in his first season due to injury. His contract was settled early in the 2002–03 season.
He signed for Charlton Athletic in August 2003. but made no appearances that season and subsequently left on a free transfer to join Coventry City in July 2004. He went on to become the club’s captain and made over 150 appearances.
After his retirement from football, Hughes returned to Arsenal as a commentator and pundit for their Arsenal Player service.