Lee Dixon has talked about his namesake making the same transfer he made from Stoke City to Arsenal
09:15, 04 Feb 2026
Jaden Dixon, seen on England youth duty, has signed for Arsenal from Stoke.
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Jaden Dixon, seen on England youth duty, has signed for Arsenal from Stoke.(Image: Octavio Passos - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Lee Dixon has passed on his best wishes to the next defender Dixon to be transferred from Stoke City to Arsenal.
It was January 1988 when Dixon Sr, then aged 23, was snapped up by Arsenal after showing brilliant form as a flying right-back under Mick Mills at Stoke in the old Division Two.
Arsenal got a future stalwart of four title-winning teams for just £400,000, which is believed to be a little more than what they are now paying up front now to sign Jaden Dixon, aged 18, also from the Potters. That fee is undisclosed but is understood to have a series of substantial future clauses.
So the move was brought up when Dixon Sr was on punditry duty for ITV watching Arsenal's Carabao Cup progress against Chelsea on Tuesday night.
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Presenter Mark Pougatch said: "If you absolutely love your football you might have seen that Arsenal have signed a right-back from Stoke called Dixon. You could say that Great Uncle Lee is absolutely thrilled."
Commentator Sam Matterface chipped in: "Towering centre-back who can play right-back, Jaden. He started at Tottenham, signed from Stoke. He's an 18-year-old who probably didn't cost more than the last Dixon to come from Stoke, we worked out, but I reckon he's on more money than you were in 1988. He's not a relation of Lee."
Lee Dixon said: "I can guarantee that he's probably on more money than I was on when I retired in 2002. He's a towering centre-half as well so the similarities end there. Good luck to him."
It is not public knowledge what Jaden Dixon will earn, although anyone who has watched him wouldn't particularly describe as a towering centre-half. He might be over 6ft but not a giant in the sense of a Virgil van Dijk or Ashley Phillips and he's probably seen more like a footballing centre-half. He has occasionally filled in at right-back for Stoke and England under-19s.
In fact, he has talked about the benefits of having Ryan Shawcross as a coach over two-and-a-half years at Stoke to add more of a hard edge and nous to his game. He has made six first team appearances for Stoke and will initially join Arsenal's under-21s set-up.
But it is public knowledge wat Lee Dixon earned when he joined Arsenal because he spoke openly about it in the 89 documentary.
Dixon Sr said: “Out of the blue I got a call from Mick Mills, who was manager of Stoke at the time, and he said ,‘We need you to come in a bit early before training.'
“I went in and he said, ‘It’s the big one’. I said, ‘Who’s that then?’ and he said, ‘Arsenal’. When the words came out of his mouth, I remember being in his office and feeling all the blood drain from my face. He told me we needed to go to Watford Gap service station to do the deal with George Graham.
"We drive down and on the way there I said to Mick, ‘What sort of money do you think George might offer me?’ He said to me, ‘You’ve made it, it’s first division, it’s Arsenal, it’s the big league. They’ll offer you £1,000 a week minimum.’
'“I couldn’t even comprehend money like that. I had that figure in my head when I got out the car at the service station.
Lee Dixon, pictured with Stoke City manager Mick Mills, made the move to Arsenal in 1988.
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Lee Dixon was brought to Stoke City from Bury by Mick Mills.(Image: Sentinel)
“George is sitting in his car like a million dollars. He’s suited and booted, he’s got his Arsenal blazer on, Arsenal tie. He puts his hand out and says, ‘Welcome aboard. The deal’s been done, the clubs have agreed a fee.' He shakes my hand again and starts to get out the car. So I said to him, ‘George, can we just talk about wages?’ He said, ‘Why what do you want?’ And I said, ‘£1,000?’
“As I said that, he basically gets out the car, shuts the door and walks off into the service station. The next day I phoned George up and I said, ‘Look you’ve got me all wrong, I’m a bit naïve. Can I come down and see you.’
“I went straight to George’s office and I said, ‘Where do I sign, I’ll sign for whatever you want,'. And he went, ‘I tell you what, I’ll give you £750’.”
Dixon Sr went on to make 458 league appearances for the Gunners before hanging up his boots at the age of 38.
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