Premier League Legends - Lee Dixon

The right back in Arsenal’s famous English back five of the 1990s, and of the greatest defenders in England’s top flight history, Lee Dixon spent 14 years with the Gunners at Highbury.

Early Life in Football

Lee Michael Dixon was born on 17th March, 1964 in Manchester, England. The son of Roy Dixon, former goalkeeper at Manchester City, Lee played his early football at Burnley, having joined in 1980 as an apprentice.

He made his senior debut in the Second Division [Championship] in 1982, and played in three matches during the season. Burnley were relegated to the Third Division [League One], and Dixon played one match before being released to Chester City in 1983.

In the 1983-84 season, Dixon scored one goal in 18 total appearances for the Seals. Next season, he was firmly established in the first team, and played in 45 matches across all competitions—41 in the Fourth Division [League Two].

Dixon signed for Bury in 1985, and went on to score seven goals in 58 total appearances—six in 45 in the Third Division—during the 1985-86 season.

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Rising to Prominence at Stoke

In the summer of 1986, Dixon moved to Stoke City, and forged the defensive partnership with Steve Bould which would serve Arsenal so well in later years.

He scored three goals in 50 total appearances for the Potters in his first season, and another two in 38 matches during the 1987-88 season. In November 1987, Dixon and Bould impressed Arsenal manager George Graham during Stoke’s 3-0 League Cup loss to the Gunners.

Two months later, Arsenal brought Dixon over to Highbury for £375,000 as replacement for Manchester United bound Viv Anderson. Steve Bould would follow five months later, in June 1988.

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The 21st Greatest Player in Arsenal History

Dixon made his Arsenal debut against Luton Town, two weeks after joining the club, in February 1988. However, he struggled to break into the first team, and made only six appearances through the rest of the season.

Still, he was given the No. 2 shirt at the beginning of the 1988-1989 season, and he never looked back—locking down Arsenal’s full back positions for the entirety of the 1990s with Nigel Winterburn at left back.

David Seaman in goal, with captain Tony Adams, Steve Bould, and Martin Keown in central defense, completed Arsenal’s famous defensive unit.

“I was fortunate to play in an Arsenal back line that earned itself a reputation as being OK. I'm not trying to be overly modest in saying that, as individuals, we weren't the best players in the world. But certainly, all my weaknesses were compensated for by Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Martin Keown, and Steve Bould, and vice versa. If one of us wasn't playing well, the others picked up the slack.” – wrote Dixon in his The Independent column in October, 2010.

In 14-and-one-half seasons at Arsenal, Dixon scored 27 goals in 616 matches across all competitions—24 in 458 league appearances—and helped Arsenal win two domestic league and cup doubles [1997-98 and 2001-02].

Dixon ranked 21st in the list of 50 Gunners Greatest Players compiled through thousands of Arsenal fan votes on the club’s official website in 2008.

He was included in the PFA Team of the Year for 1986-87 [Second Division], and 1989-90 and 1990-91 [First Division].

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List of Honours

First Division/Premier League [4]: 1988-89, 1990-91, 1997-98, 2001-02

FA Cup [3]: 1992-93, 1997-98, 2001-02

European Cup Winners' Cup [01]: 1993-94

FA Charity Shield [03]: 1991 [Shared], 1998, 1999

Dixon represented England at international level in 22 matches, scoring one goal. He made his debut against Czechoslovakia in 1990, and scored his only goal for the country at Wembley in 1991 against Republic of Ireland.

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