Arsenal U21s defender Jaden Dixon eager to push on after returning from injury

It has been evident in recent weeks that Arsenal U21s now have a wide variety of options at their disposal and the return from injury of Jaden Dixon has improved matters even further.

A versatile defender, Dixon is capable of playing at right-back or centre-back and arrived at Arsenal from Stoke City last Winter amid a considerable amount of expectation.

Dixon was impressive in his early outings for Arsenal U21s last season, when he was mainly deployed at right-back, while he also made his Gunners first-team debut against Mansfield in the FA Cup having previously played six times for Stoke at senior level.

An injury then stopped Dixon in his tracks and meant that he missed the end of last season at youth level and was also unavailable for the first-team in pre-season.

There had been suggestions that the 19-year-old would be loaned out in the summer transfer window but any such plans will have to be put on hold until January at least.

Dixon is now finally back available for Arsenal U21s and featured as a substitute against Brighton and Chelsea in Premier League 2 before starting against Leyton Orient in the EFL Trophy.

Interestingly, coach David Horseman has shown a preference to play Dixon at centre-back of late, which may well be the youngster’s long-term position.

A player who is strong physically, Dixon reads the game well and also has good technique.

The immediate aim for Dixon will be to get as much game time as possible at U21 level, while he will also be targeting further first-team callups ahead of a potential loan move.