Arsenal let him go late on transfer deadline day, but the Gunners have agreed a deal that increases Mikel Arteta’s options for the second half of the 2025-26 season.
Jayden Dixon is ready to join Arsenal (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Arsenal have made a last-minute deal to sign highly-rated defender Jayden Dixon from Stoke City for around £500,000. The Gunners fought off competition from a number of clubs to sign 18-year-old Dixon in the final hours of the transfer window.
The England Under-19 international made his first-team debut for Stoke last season and was recently on the bench for the Potters in the Championship. Dixon is primarily a centre-back but can also play at right-back, giving him the versatility that Mikel Arteta likes.
Football London report that Dixon will join Arsenal’s academy as the Gunners have a wealth of first-team centre-backs. Marli Salmon, who is just 16 years old, is expected to be Dixon’s rival for a position or partner at youth level.
The Stoke prospect, who has been a regular for England’s Under-19s this season, probably won’t get his last job at Arsenal. Emirates executives have made progress in signing 18-year-old Scottish midfielder Evan Mooney, who will join from St Mirren.
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Arsenal were looking to sign the midfielder on deadline day, a day after Mikel Merino was forced to undergo surgery, and ruled him out with an ‘extension’. Asked if the Gunners were considering signing a replacement, Arteta told a press conference on Monday:
“And when you’re playing for what you play, it’s our responsibility to give ourselves the best chance and chance to look at the market and all the options and evaluate them and make a decision whether to do something if possible. When you lose a big player like this in a team with four months left and all competitions left to play, you have to look.”
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Jayden Dixon has made five appearances for England Under-19s (Image: Octavio Passos – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
“And we need to do everything we can to make sure we have players available. If not, we keep the players we have. At this level, especially for four months, you have to bring in players who are capable of adapting quickly and having an impact on the team.”
“It’s not easy, but if it was easy we wouldn’t be here. So we need to find solutions and try. We need players because we play every two or three days.”
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